To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE
Supreme Court to Rule on Line between Private and Government Speech in Christian Flag Case"This case is so much bigger than a flag. It really involves whether the government can open a forum for a lot of different voices and then shut the door for Christian viewpoints." -Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. [CBN News] Outside of Boston City Hall stand three flag poles. One of them flies the US flag, another, the flag of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the third flagpole is intended to celebrate other countries, cultures, and causes. (Image: Pixabay) Over a 12-year period, the city of Boston received nearly 300 applications for that third flagpole. They approved all of them, except one. "These include flags of individuals, say for example, Metro Credit Union, gay pride, Boston Pride, other causes, in addition to that, they also had individuals who would raise flags of their countries," said Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. The sole rejection came in 2017 when an organization called Camp Constitution applied to raise a "Christian" flag and hold a one-hour ceremony in honor of Constitution Day. "What they said was, while this was the first flag of a religious nature, they said that it would have been allowed to fly had it not been called 'Christian.' So the same flag had no problem to the city as long as you didn't call it something religious," Staver told CBN News. Camp Constitution Director, Hal Shurtleff, sued the city, and now his case will be heard by the Supreme Court. "This case is so much bigger than a flag. It really involves whether the government can open a forum for a lot of different voices and then shut the door for Christian viewpoints," Staver, the camp's counsel, explained. Despite the fact that the city itself has referred to the flagpole as a "public forum," its attorneys are expected to argue this is a case of government speech. Meaning, the flagpole speaks for the city of Boston. "That defies logic because Boston allows two competing Chinese organizations or individual groups to put opposite flags, both of the Chinese community, one pro-China, one anti-China, the other one pro-communism, the other one anti-communism," said Staver. "Boston cannot be pro-China one week, anti-China the next, pro-communism one week, anti-communism the next," he added. "That's classic free speech in a public forum, that's not the speech of Boston." And the case has attracted some unlikely allies. The ACLU, a group normally against religious displays on government property, filed a brief supporting Camp Constitution. The Biden administration also supports their side. Staver believes this case will have significant implications on private free speech. Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here
To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE Other Recent Articles from Breaking Christian News Tens of Thousands Attend Jerusalem Annual Passover Priestly Blessing, Focus on Hostages, Families Pro-Life Democrat Runs 'Graphic' Abortion Ad during the 'Today' Show Outrage Follows Biden's Abortion Blessing at a Recent Rally Biden's EPA Rolls Out Regulations Aimed at Killing the American Coal Industry 8 GOP States (and Counting) Ban Biden's DOJ from 'Intimidating' Voters at 2024 Polls West Virginia Student Helps Pass Bill to Teach Intelligent Design: 'This Is a God-Fearing State' Free Speech Resolution Allows Satanic Temple 'Invocation' Sparking Chaos at a Michigan Board Meeting Paris Olympics Will Feature a 'Pride House' to 'Celebrate' Homosexual and Gender-Confused Athletes Video Captures Drag Queen Indoctrinating Kids, Getting Them to Chant... 'Free Palestine' Who's Funding the Anti-Israel, Pro-Palestine Protests? DEVELOPING: Harvey Weinstein Rape Conviction Overturned By New York Appellate Court Supreme Court Puts Final Nail in Coffin of Effort to Block Trump from Ballot in Arizona Courageous: Worship Leader Sean Feucht Prepares to Confront Anti-Israel Evil, Darkness, and Horror Search the Articles Archives |
All articles on this site and emails from BCN are copyrighted property of Breaking Christian News. Permission is given to link to, or share a BCN story if proper attribution is given to both the original writer and summarizer of the story. Breaking Christian News 2005-2019. All Rights Reserved.
Breaking Christian News is a division of Elijah List Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Disclaimer: Articles and links, as well as the source articles linked to; do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Breaking Christian News.
Home | Store | Subscribe | Facebook | Article Archive |