Tag Archives: ZZ: Hart v. Tomack

ADF attorney Matthew Sharp at The Desert Sun (6/22): It should be beyond dispute in America today that all citizens should be treated equally without regard to their race, color, gender or religion. Yet far too often, governments discriminate against people of faith because of the religious content of their speech.

The Desert Sun: A request to dismiss the lawsuit, arranged by the Alliance Defense Fund on behalf of Lou Ann Hart and Sheryl Caronna, was expected to be filed June 9, said David Cortman, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, a group of Christian attorneys lawyers.

News Hounds:: He introduced one of the women, a parent of a school senior, and her lawyer from the Alliance Defense Fund which specializes in persecuted Christians. Lou Ann Hart said that she wanted to commemorate her daughter’s “hard work in bringing people to the knowledge of Jesus Christ.” She held up one of the bricks that had a quote from Corinthians and said that she was told that her bricks couldn’t be placed.

Daily Mail Online: ‘Christians should be allowed to express themselves on public school campuses just like everyone else,’ Mr Cortman told Fox News. ‘It is cowardly to shut down everyone’s participation in this programme simply out of animosity toward Christian speech. ‘There is absolutely nothing unconstitutional about a Bible verse on a brick when a school opens up a programme for anyone to express a personal message. ‘The school could simply have allowed the Bible verses, but instead, it chose to punish everyone,’ he added.

Meredith Carroll at the Strollerderby Blog (Babble.com): Christians should be allowed to express themselves on public school campuses just like everyone else,” David Cortman, an attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund, said in a written statement to Fox News. Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian organization, initiated the lawsuit for the two women involved. “It is cowardly to shut down everyone’s participation in this program simply out of animosity toward Christian speech. There is absolutely nothing unconstitutional about a Bible verse on a brick when a school opens up a program for anyone to express a personal message. The school could simply have allowed the Bible verses, but instead, it chose to punish everyone.”

Herald Sun: Christians should be allowed to express themselves on public school campuses just like everyone else,” David Cortman, a lawyer for the Alliance Defense Fund, said in a written statement. Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian organisation, initiated the lawsuit for Hart and Caronna. “It is cowardly to shut down everyone’s participation in this program simply out of animosity toward Christian speech,” Mr Cortman said. “There is absolutely nothing unconstitutional about a Bible verse on a brick when a school opens up a program for anyone to express a personal message. The school could simply have allowed the Bible verses, but instead, it chose to punish everyone.”

FoxNews.com: “Christians should be allowed to express themselves on public school campuses just like everyone else,” David Cortman, an attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund, said in a written statement. Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian organization, initiated the lawsuit for Hart and Caronna. “It is cowardly to shut down everyone’s participation in this program simply out of animosity toward Christian speech,” Cortman said. “There is absolutely nothing unconstitutional about a Bible verse on a brick when a school opens up a program for anyone to express a personal message. The school could simply have allowed the Bible verses, but instead, it chose to punish everyone.”

The New American: David Cortman of the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), the conservative legal advocacy group that represented the women in court, declared that “Christians should be allowed to express themselves on public school campuses, just like everyone else. It is cowardly to shut down everyone’s participation in this program simply to keep out Christian speech.”

California Catholic Daily: “Christians should be allowed to express themselves on public school campuses just like everyone else,” said ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman. “It is cowardly to shut down everyone’s participation in this program simply out of animosity toward Christian speech. There is absolutely nothing unconstitutional about a Bible verse on a brick when a school opens up a program for anyone to express a personal message. The school could simply have allowed the Bible verses, but instead, it chose to punish everyone.”

Charisma: “Christians should be allowed to express themselves on public school campuses just like everyone else,” said David Cortman of the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian organization of attorneys who filed a lawsuit against the school district on the women’s behalf.

Christian Post: “There is absolutely nothing unconstitutional about a Bible verse on a brick when a school opens up a program for anyone to express a personal message,” ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman stated. “Christians should be allowed to express themselves on public school campuses just like everyone else.”

OneNewsNow.com: David Cortman, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), says Christians are not to be treated differently from anyone else. “Christians should be allowed to express themselves on public school campuses, just like everyone else,” says the attorney. “It is cowardly to shut down everyone’s participation in this program simply to keep out Christian speech.”

WorldNetDaily: “Rather than allow the verses on a few pavers along walkways at Palm Desert High School, the Desert Sands Unified School District censored everyone participating in the program and refunded their money,” ADF announced . . . “Christians should be allowed to express themselves on public school campuses just like everyone else,” said ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman. “It is cowardly to shut down everyone’s participation in this program simply out of animosity toward Christian speech. There is absolutely nothing unconstitutional about a Bible verse on a brick when a school opens up a program for anyone to express a personal message. The school could simply have allowed the Bible verses, but instead, it chose to punish everyone.” . . .

School district responds to ADF lawsuit, cancels entire memorial brick paver program to make sure a few Bible verses aren’t used

The Desert Sun: A request to dismiss the suit, filed by the Alliance Defense Fund on behalf of Lou Ann Hart and Sheryl Caronna, will be filed today, said David Cortman, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, a group of Christian lawyers. . . . The district “basically took what I would consider to be the cowardly way out and they shut down the forum completely,” said Cortman. “Rather than allow a few Bible verses, they completely censored everyone’s speech.”

Catholic League: “Tomorrow, a fifth-grader in a Los Angeles public school will be allowed to sing a song at a talent show that mentions Jesus, but only because his mother acquired the services of the Alliance Defense Fund threatening a lawsuit: he was initially denied the right to sing the song, “We Shine,” because it mentions Jesus too many times (it was not disclosed how many times it would take to violate the unwritten quota).”

San Diego Union Tribune (AP): “A fifth-grader will be allowed to perform to a Christian-themed song at his school talent show after a lawsuit accused the Los Angeles Unified School District of violating his free-speech rights, it was announced Wednesday . . . The mother was asked, “Can he pick a song that doesn’t say Jesus so many times,’” said David Cortman, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian-based legal organization that represents the mother.

ADF attorney Matt Sharp appeared on The Source with Paul Anderson to discuss this: Not just another brick in the walkway: Calif. high school forbids Christian pavers | MP3 18:47 mins

David Waters writes at the Washington Post: “Christians shouldn’t be discriminated against and excluded from expressing their faith on public high school campuses when that door of communication is open to virtually everyone else,” David Cortman, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, which is taking the case to court, said in a statement. Objection, Mr. Cortman. There’s no evidence that the Desert Sands Unified School District is discriminating against Christians.

Yahoo News: With the help of the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), Sheryl Caronna (of Rancho Mirage, Calif.) and Lou Ann Hart (of Palm Desert, Calif.) are protesting the exclusion of the Scripture-engraved pavers they purchased in a Palm Desert High School fundraiser from an on-campus walkway . . . “Christians shouldn’t be discriminated against and excluded from expressing their faith on public high school campuses when that door of communication is open to virtually everyone else,” said ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman. “The government cannot single out Christians because their religious viewpoint does not coincide with campus orthodoxy. Christians have the same First Amendment- protected rights as everyone else does on public school campuses, and their messages are no less worthy of exposure than other individuals.”

OneNewsNow: “Two women have filed suit against a California school district because the scripture-bearing bricks they purchased to contribute to a high school campus sidewalk path would not be included in the project . . . ‘They use that phrase that we hear all too often for trying to justify this, and it’s the so-called “separation of church and state,”‘ reports [David Cortman], senior counsel for ADF.”

ADF attorney David Cortman appeared on the Mike Gallagher Show to discuss this: Not just another brick in the walkway: Calif. high school forbids Christian pavers. | MP3 audio 6:05 mins

WorldNetDaily: “‘The government cannot single out Christians because their religious viewpoint does not coincide with campus orthodoxy,’ said ADF Senior Counsel [David Cortman]. ‘Christians have the same First Amendment-protected rights as everyone else does on public school campuses, and their messages are no less worthy of exposure than other individuals.’”

Charisma: “[T]he Desert Sands Unified School District Board of Education seems confused by an Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) lawsuit defending two California women who’s brick pavers were rejected as part of a sidewalk because they were inscribed with the Word of God.”

California Catholic Daily: ‘Christians shouldn’t be discriminated against and excluded from expressing their faith on public high school campuses when that door of communication is open to virtually everyone else,’ said ADF Senior Counsel [David Cortman]. ‘The government cannot single out Christians because their religious viewpoint does not coincide with campus orthodoxy. Christians have the same First Amendment-protected rights as everyone else does on public school campuses, and their messages are no less worthy of exposure than other individuals.’”

Southwest Riverside News Network: “‘The government cannot single out Christians, because their religious viewpoint does not coincide with campus orthodoxy,’ said [David Cortman], senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund. ‘Christians have the same First Amendment-protected rights as everyone else does on public school campuses, and their messages are no less worthy of exposure than other individuals.’”

The Desert Sun (Palm Springs): “‘The so-called separation of church and state . . . does not justify discrimination against religious speech,’ said [David Cortman], an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, which filed the suit Thursday on behalf of Lou Ann Hart and Sheryl Caronna.”

Religion Clause: “[T]he school refused to install pavers from two donors who had Bible verses inscribed on theirs . . . Alliance Defense Fund issued a release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.”

Charisma: “‘Christians shouldn’t be discriminated against and excluded from expressing their faith on public high school campuses when that door of communication is open to virtually everyone else,’ says ADF Senior Counsel [David Cortman].”

ADF attorneys sue school board after women’s paid-for Bible message is prohibited