AFL Sues School Board for Silencing Parents Who Voiced Concerns

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, America First Legal (AFL) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, on behalf of a group of parents, against the Loudoun County School Board for silencing concerned parents and depriving them of exercising their First Amendment right to free speech after speaking out against allowing an allegedly illegal alien student with MS-13 ties to return to school after he was arrested for carrying a gun and threatening to shoot another student. For years, the Loudoun County School Board has actively suppressed criticism and silenced dissenting voices at school board meetings under the guise of protecting student privacy. This led to a special grand jury report blasting the school district for hiding behind suspect privacy justifications at the expense of student safety. On October 8, 2024, a group of concerned parents and community members attended the school board’s public meeting to voice their concerns over reports that the school had decided to reinstate a reported illegal alien student with ties to the transnational MS-13 gang who had previously been arrested for carrying a stolen firearm and threatening to kill a classmate.  Parents were rightfully concerned that the school board would allow this allegedly illegal, gang-affiliated student to return to the school, given an incident that occurred at Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) in 2021 when the school board reassigned a student who sexually assaulted another student to another school in the LCPS system. During the public comment portion of the meeting, when parents attempted to discuss the safety of students, the school board — led by Chairwoman Melinda Mansfield — cut off the speakers, accused them of violating “decorum” rules and privacy laws, and abruptly ended the public comment period, depriving several speakers the chance to speak at all, including a parent whose child was sexually assaulted by a “transgender” student at LCPS.   The school board’s action to prevent concerned parents from expressing their concerns is brazen and intentional viewpoint discrimination and a flagrant violation of the First Amendment right to free speech.  Shockingly, the School Board has defended its actions to discriminate based on viewpoints by claiming that it shut down public comment to “comba[t]…misinformation.”  This is not the first time LCPS has engaged in blatantly unlawful conduct. In January 2023, AFL sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) requesting an investigation into LCPS’ mishandling of sexual assault incidents that resulted from a “non-binary” male student entering the girls’ bathroom and assaulting a female student. Later that month, in response to AFL’s complaint, the DOE’s office opened an investigation into LCPS allegations of sexual assault and harassment.  AFL’s lawsuit demands that the Court declare LCPS’s actions unconstitutional and enjoin the district from continuing to unconstitutionally silence parents from speaking on the safety of students at LCPS and the district’s actions related to the transfer to another school of a student arrested for carrying a gun, threatening to shoot another student, and allegedly in this country illegally and affiliated with MS-13. Read the lawsuit here.

This week on Faith On Trial

 Faith On Trial podcast: https://faith-on-trial.simplecast.com/

Judge orders Virginia to keep non-citizens on voting rolls

Judge Giles

U.S. District Judge Patricia Giles on Friday ordered Virginia to restore more than 1,600 voter registrations that she said were illegally purged in the last two months in an effort to stop noncitizens from voting.

Judge Giles, a 2021 Biden appointee to the federal bench granted an injunction request brought against Virginia election officials by the Biden Justice Department, which claimed the voter registrations were wrongly canceled during a 90-day quiet period ahead of the November election that restricts states from making large-scale changes to their voter rolls.

Those whose registration was reinstated had previously self-identified as non-citizens. Under current Virginia law they were given notice and an opportunity to appeal the decision to remove them, or to vote by using a challenged ballot. The law had been passed and signed into law by former Governor and now Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat.

 

Local Resident Suddenly Forced to Obtain Town Permit for Holding Religious Sign on Public Sidewalk

Chapin, SC — First Liberty Institute sent a letter to the Town of Chapin, South Carolina on behalf of local resident Ernest Giardino after he was told a permit was required to hold a sign and share his faith on a public sidewalk.

 

You can read the letter here.

 

“No one needs the government’s permission to express their faith in public,” said First Liberty Senior Counsel Nate Kellum. “The First Amendment is his permit. Like any citizen in any city in America, Mr. Giardino is free to peacefully share his religious beliefs on a public sidewalk. Chapin’s ordinance is overbroad, unconstitutional, and must be repealed or enjoined.”

 

Ernest Giardino was on a public sidewalk at the intersection of Old Lexington Road and Chapin Road on June 20, 2024, holding a 20x24 inch sign attached to a short handle, which read “Trust Christ He paid the price” on one side and “He Saved Others—Jesus—He’ll Save You” on the other side. He had held similar signs on Chapin sidewalks for the previous 8 months without incident. However, on this day as Mr. Giardino was leaving, a Chapin police officer approached Mr. Giardino and informed him that he needed Chapin’s permission to share his message with a sign.

 

The next day, Mr. Giardino spoke with the Code Enforcement Officer and the Chief of Police in person about this surprising development.  Though cordial, both confirmed the need for a permit for his speech, handing Mr. Giardino a permit application.  The permits limited Mr. Giardino to holding his sign for only 30 minutes.  Additionally, he was advised that he would need to change sidewalk corners every 15 minutes while holding a sign.

 

First Liberty’s letter says, “Permit schemes, like the one found in Chapin, have the effect of freezing speech before it is uttered.  Permit schemes are thus viewed skeptically, being ‘the most serious and least tolerable infringement on First Amendment rights.’ A prior restraint like Chapin’s ordinance can survive challenge only if it does not delegate overly broad licensing discretion to government officials.   Chapin’s permit scheme falls short of this standard, in multiple ways.”

 

###

About First Liberty Institute

First Liberty Institute is a non-profit public interest law firm and the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom for all Americans.

HARRIS COMES OUT AGAINST RELIGIOUS EXEMPTIONS FOR ABORTION

Harris: NO RELIGIOUS EXCEPTIONS FOR CATHOLICS

 IN MY ABORTION PLAN

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris roiled Christian leaders Tuesday when she took a no-exceptions pro-abortion stance during an interview with NBC. Asked if she would be open to including “religious exemptions” in a bill to impose “abortion rights” nationwide, Harris said: “I don’t think we should be making concessions when we’re talking about a fundamental freedom to make decisions about your own body.”    READ

A message from Brian Burch, Catholic Vote president

 

I want to make sure you saw this viral clip…  Kamala Harris is famous for spouting her poll-tested soundbites.   But sometimes she goes off script.  This past weekend when students attending her rally yelled out “Jesus is Lord!” Kamala shot back:   “Oh, I think you’re at the wrong rally.”  The left-wing crowd went wild. And then she doubled down: “You belong down the street.”  >> WATCH THE WHOLE THING HERE <<  (COOL FACT: Our clip of the incident has been watched over 2 MILLION times already!)  But you don’t need viral, off-the-cuff remarks to know that a Harris administration poses an existential threat to everything we hold sacred.   That’s because she has a long track record of attacking Catholics.

She denounced a judicial nominee for being a member of the Knights of Columbus. Her failed leadership on our southern border has led to a humanitarian crisis, with migrants raped or sex trafficked, and hundreds of thousands of children now lost. She has pledged to impose unlimited abortion – including late-term abortion – on every state in America if elected. She has promised to go all in on the radical “trans” agenda, including taxpayer funding of surgeries (including on children), allowing boys in girls' bathrooms, and to force schools to allow boys to participate in women’s sports.

 

DON’T FORGET: She has also introduced legislation that would destroy Catholic healthcare as we know it, force charities like the Little Sisters of the Poor to pay for abortion drugs, and compel Catholic employers, charities, and schools to violate our fundamental moral beliefs.   Of course, you already know this: Kamala Harris doesn’t respect us, and will smash our Catholic way of life if elected.  We have 15 days to stop her.   I’m hoping you can help me get this latest video in front of every American voter.  Everyone must understand:  It’s not just that she doesn’t want us at her rallies.  She wants everything we believe out of America.  Kamala Harris has repeatedly told us that “democracy is on the line.”  Your way of life is “at stake.”  Do you believe her now?  Help us get the word out.

Ready to vote?

 

Voting has begun in the state of Iowa. To make sure you’re registered and “ready to vote,” go to voterready.iowa.gov. Let’s also remember the importance of participating in the public life of our country with a well-informed conscience. Take a moment to read the new Introductory Note for the bishops’ document, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.” U.S. bishops’ president calls on fervent prayer to open pathway to peace “Our Catholic faith teaches us to hope even amidst the darkest of circumstances, for Christ is risen from the dead,” said Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in a letter inviting the bishops to pray for an end to the violence in the Holy Land. At a time of warfare in the Holy Land and in the face of a dramatic rise in antisemitic and anti-Muslim incidents here in the United States, Archbishop Broglio called on the bishops to seek ways to express solidarity with our Jewish and Muslim brothers and sisters, and commit to combatting all forms of hatred. Refugee resettlement number set Earlier this month, President Biden signed the Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2025, setting the number of people who can be resettled through the official U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) at 125,000. The United Nations estimates there are over 120 million forcibly displaced persons in the world, up from 24 million at the end of the twentieth century.  Through its Department of Migration and Refugee Services (MRS), the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is one of ten national resettlement agencies partnering with the federal government on USRAP. At the local level, dioceses and their Catholic Charities agencies play an essential role in helping refugees to integrate successfully into their new communities. Catholic Charities of Des Moines operates one of many resettlement programs in Iowa.

New "Catholic" Film Conclave to Debut Michael P. McDonald

On October 25, Conclave will appear in movie theaters across the country. This thriller about a fictitious papal-election has garnered glowing reviews on the film festival circuit. In fact, the movie has garnered a 94 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. 

In its fawning review, the Hollywood Reporter notes, "The film raises timely issues of sexual and racist prejudices within organized religion, while also acknowledging the sexual scandals that have rocked the Church in recent years." Entertainment Weekly adds that "much of the film interrogates the gap between the Catholic Church's sins and the true meaning of faith...." 

Since Conclave is about the intrigue surrounding the election of a new pope, one might wonder how these negative elements fit into the plot. Unfortunately, the reviews are scarce on specific details, but looking at the 2016 novel it is based on provides more insight. 

Like the movie, the novel revolves around the political intrigue of a papal election. Of course, the leading candidates have some sort of moral failing.

 

·       Cardinal Joshua Adeyemi from Africa who holds traditional views had an affair with a nun and fathered a child ruling him out of contention.

·       Cardinal Joseph Tremblay a smooth Vatican insider is involved in a scandal of selling Church offices and appointments to bolster his support.

·       Liberal Cardinal Aldo Bellini who favors modernizing the Church is a suffering hero rejected by the College of Cardinals.

·       Foiling Bellini is the ultra-conservative Cardinal Goffredo Tedesco, a boorish man. 

In the middle of the conclave there is an attack by Islamic terrorists prompting Tedesco to effectively call for a new crusade, ending his candidacy. Ultimately, the conclave selects Cardinal Vincent Benítez, a relatively unknown prelate from the Philippines who currently serves as the Archbishop of Baghdad. In a final twist, it turns out Benítez is intersex with what looks to be male reproductive organs but is female. 

The author, Robert Harris, claims he has no real religious tradition. However, he is a devout British liberal, even authoring a novel to attack Tony Blair, which was made into a film in collaboration with sexual predator Roman Polanski. In fact, the pair worked on three films. Harris even defended Polanski from his critics saying his crimes are a problem of culture and fashion. 

In the novel's Acknowledgements, Harris cites a slew of dissident Catholic writers including John Cornwell, a British author known for the totally discredited book Hitler's Pope. 

It is equally instructive to consider what some of the people associated with the movie have said:

 

·       Director Edward Berger—"If the Catholic Church wants to survive and take a step into the future it needs to change quickly...."

·       Leading actor Ralph Fiennes—"When religious things become so codified, so doctrinal and extreme, then they become for me very frightening." He then criticized Pope Benedict XVI, "I don't think anyone who considers themselves an enlightened Catholic can like him."

·       Supporting actor Stanley Tucci played the anti-Catholic Boston lawyer Mitchell Garabedian in Spotlight, lauding his work. That tells us volumes about Tucci's real agenda. 

Given what we know about Conclave from the fawning critics, the novel, and what people associated with the film have said, Conclave is more a piece of anti-Catholic propaganda than it is a work of art. It might have stunning cinematic sequences and a star studded cast, but those things do not redeem the underlying ugliness of the project, namely it aims to paint the Catholic Church in the most negative light possible.

Cringe, NOT Catholic: New Liturgical Dance under Pope Francis - Dr. Tayl...

Update on SB 277 - CA Law Restricting Religious Exemptions for Childhood...

PA School District Violates Parental Rights

JOHNSTOWN, PA – In a victory for parental rights, a federal judge recently ruled that Mt. Lebanon School District in Pittsburgh violated the rights of parents by allowing a first grade teacher to give gender ideology instruction without notice or means for the parents to opt their young children out of the class. The decision came after three parents sued because the district allowed the teacher to lead students in a celebration of “Transgender Awareness Day” and read them extracurricular story books about “gender transition” without their consent. The Court ruled that the district’s conduct violated the “fundamental constitutional right” of parents “to control the upbringing of their young children.”

According to the judge’s ruling, teacher Megan Williams at Jefferson Elementary School read several noncurricular books to her young students that conveyed the message that “when children are born, parents make a guess whether they’re a boy or a girl. Sometimes parents are wrong.” When a male student became “upset,” he told Williams, “But I’m a boy. I don’t want to be a girl.” She responded, “Yes, you are. Talk with your parents about that.”

The judge stated Williams created “actual confusion” among the students after teaching their parents could be wrong about gender while encouraging them to talk to them about gender.

Senior Judge Joy Flowers Conti of the Western District of Pennsylvania wrote, “Telling the students to talk to their parents about the child’s gender – after telling the first-graders their parents might be wrong – did not eliminate the students’ confusion in this case.”

Judge Conti stated the teacher “showed intolerance and disrespect” for the authority, moral, and religious beliefs of parents. 

“A teacher instructing first-graders and reading books to show that their parents’ beliefs about their children’s gender identity may be wrong directly repudiates parental authority,” wrote Judge Conti. “Williams’ conduct struck at the heart of Plaintiffs’ own families and their relationship with their own young children. The books read and Williams’ instruction to her first-grade students taught that gender is determined by the child – not, in accordance with the Parents’ beliefs, by God or biological reality.” 

“The students’ confusion in this case illustrates how difficult it is for a first-grader when a teacher’s instruction conflicts with their Parents’ religious and moral beliefs,” Judge Conti continued. “The heart of parental authority on matters of the greatest importance within their own family is undermined when a teacher tells first-graders their parents may be wrong about whether the student is a boy or a girl.”

Judge Conti concluded the U.S. Constitution does not give schools or teachers “unbridled discretion” to teach on any topic and to not provide notice or a means to opt out. Judge Conti stated that parents have “a constitutional right to reasonable and realistic advance notice” to gender-related topics as well as a right “to opt their elementary-age children out of noncurricular instruction” on gender issues just like with any other sensitive topic.

The Court’s ruling now obligates the school district to give parents advance notice and the ability to opt their children out of noncurricular instruction.

According to a recent Pew Research Center report, more than two-thirds of teachers, parents, and students believe that gender identity should not be taught in schools. In addition, more than half of parents and nearly half of teachers indicated parents should be able to opt their children out of this instruction.

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “Confusing first graders about gender and undermining their relationship with their parents is reprehensible. The U.S. Constitution gives parents the right to direct their children’s education. Parents deserve the right to know what their children are being taught and an opportunity to opt them out of it. Gender ideology has no place in the classroom and every parent should be able to opt their children out of this fiction.”

Biden-Harris punishes parents who protect kids from ‘trans’

“The Biden-Harris administration has cleared a path for its unelected bureaucrats in the nation’s top health agency to declare as ‘child abusers’ parents who wish to protect their children from life-altering experimental ‘gender transition’ drugs and surgeries,” Dr. Susan Berry writes.  READ

This week on Faith On Trial

 Click for this week’s podcast: https://faith-on-trial.simplecast.com/

Faith On Trial this week ...

 Click for podcast: https://faith-on-trial.simplecast.com/

BOMBSHELL: CATHOLIC HOSPITALS SUBJECT KIDS TO ‘TRANS’ SURGERIES

A bombshell new database published this week revealed that children have been subjected on a limited basis to “transgender” procedures in Catholic hospitals across the country, in violation of Catholic medical ethics. READ