Christian Rights Ministries

Christian Rights News

RETURN TO HOME PAGE

Christian Rights News

  • Listen to Steve Taylor Speak on the Rob Shilling Show (WINA AM 1070 Charlottesville)
    		•
  • Court Document Text of Complaint

    • Christians threatened with arrest for sharing Gospel in Richmond file suit

    Christian Rights Ministries files suit on behalf of five men silenced for their views

    RICHMOND, Va. — Alliance Defense Fund allied attorney and Christian Rights Ministries Director Steve Taylor filed a lawsuit Friday against the city of Richmond on behalf of five Christian men threatened with arrest for sharing their faith on public property and at public events. The suit alleges that police officers with the city violated the men’s First Amendment rights by demanding that they stop their “disturbing” and “offending” religious expression, which consisted of peacefully preaching to small groups, one-on-one witnessing, and handing out tracts.

    “Christians shouldn’t be threatened with arrest and silenced for expressing their beliefs at public events and on public property,” said ADF-allied attorney Steve Taylor, of Chesapeake. “Denying Christians their free speech rights, protected by the First Amendment, is a practice that the city of Richmond should put to an end. Americans have the right to peacefully share their faith in public areas without being shackled by vague or overly broad ordinances. The Constitution does not allow anyone to be silenced simply because other people don’t like the content of the message being spoken.”

    Over the past two years, Virginia residents James Lee Craft, Matthew Ray, Ryan Walker, Rob Baird, and Nathan P. Magnusen were threatened with arrest while sharing the Gospel at different locations by Richmond police officers. Whether on public sidewalks or at public city events--such as the city’s annual UKrops Supervalu Christmas Parade or its Watermelon Festival--officers demanded that the men cease their religious expression or move to other locations. In some situations, officers attempted to enforce the city’s vague noise ordinance and trespassing ordinance to get them to end their religious expression.

    Even though the men’s religious expression was conducted in a peaceful fashion, officers on a number of occasions insisted that their constitutionally protected activities were “offending” and “disturbing” crowds, which could not be substantiated under the city’s broad noise ordinance. The lawsuit argues that the noise ordinance, as well as Richmond’s trespassing ordinance, were illegally enforced against the Christian men--and not enforced against other members of the public engaging in expression--because of the religious nature of the message the men were communicating.

    Taylor filed the lawsuit Craft v. City of Richmond with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division.

    Federal Court Rules That Schools Must Stop Discriminating Against “Good News Clubs”

    Williamsburg, VA - Child Evangelism Fellowship of Virginia recently won a victory for children in the Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools.

    A federal court ruled that the school board discriminated against CEF and violated their constitutional right to equal access by charging them a fee for holding an afterschool Good News Club. The school board had granted free access to other organizations including the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Christian Rights Ministry was local and co-counsel with Matt Staver of Liberty Counsel representing CEF.

    The U.S. District Court issued an opinion that stated the school board's policy "empowers its superintendent to decide which organizations are allowed to have fee waivers without setting forth any concrete standards." The United States Supreme Court ruled in 2001 in Good News Club v. Milford Central School that Good News Clubs must have equal access to school facilities just like other after-school programs like the Boy Scouts. What is equal access? Equal access means that religious individuals and organizations must have the same access to public facilities and funding as all other groups.

    Advocacy groups, such as Americans United for Separation of Church and State and ACLU and their allies have waged a full-scale war full of misunderstanding and confusion in an attempt to deny Christian organizations their constitutional right to equal access.

    Steve C. Taylor, local counsel for CEF commented, "The court today reaffirmed that giving equal access to Christian Organizations to public facilities does not o0ffend Constitutional principles, but rather , upholds them and promotes fundamental fairness.

    Benjamin Rush said, "Christianity is the only true and perfect religion, and in proportion as mankind adopt its principles and obey its precepts, they will be wise and happy. And a better knowledge of this religion is to be acquired by reading the Bible than in any other way."