7 Year Old Arrested For Bringing Bible Verse To School-- Speaker Ryan Still Refuses To Act
Reports are spreading from this earlier incident. Public Advocate president Eugene Delgaudio issued this reaction:
"As president, I have been predicting the arrests and imprisonment of Christians in this country for years and reports of routine arrests for "sharing personal information publicly" or other simple Godly non-threatening public testimony or just being a Christian is fast becoming an arresting action, fining penalty or justification (reason) for excessive police action in many places in America. This requires a correction from Congress through the passage of the Labrador Religious Freedom Act but Speaker Paul Ryan refuses to act," said Delgaudio.
Elementary school sends deputy to boy's home to warn him about
sharing Bible verses: Report
The Washington Times Reports
A California elementary school has been accused of violating a 7-year-old boy's First Amendment rights after school officials reportedly dispatched a sheriff's deputy to the boy's home to warn him against distributing Bible verses after school.
The Liberty Counsel, a Christian nonprofit litigation group, is threatening legal action against Desert Rose Elementary School in Palmdale for "an outrageous violation of a first grader's constitutional rights," according to a Thursday press release.
The group said the student, identified as "C," would regularly read aloud the Bible verses that his mother, Christina Zavala, would pack away in his lunch. The verses became so popular that other students started asking the boy for their own verses. Ms. Zavala then started providing additional Bible verses for her son's friends that included short stories for context.
"However, when one little girl said 'teacher - this is the most beautiful story I've ever seen,' 'separation of church and state' was the response, and the notes were banned from lunchtime distribution," the Liberty Counsel said. "C was told that the school gate was the only location at which he could give the Bible verses to his friends, and only after the bell rang."
The group said Ms. Zavala and her son complied with the order and started handing out the verses after school at the gate in late April. The activity became increasingly popular, with at least 15 students showing up every day. On May 9, Principal Melanie Pagliaro reportedly approached C's father, Jaime Zavala, and demanded he and the boy move completely off school property and onto the public sidewalk. The family immediately complied, the Liberty Counsel said.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jun/3/elementary-school-sends-deputy-to-boys-home-to-war/
Christian Post reports:
Elementary School Calls Police on 7-Y-O Boy for Sharing Bible Verses
A California public school called a Los Angeles Deputy Sheriff in Palmdale to reprimand a 7-year-old student for handing out Bible verses, warning that such actions are "offensive."
Santa Monica Observer reported that the student, who attends Desert Rose Elementary, had been handing out Bible verses given to him in the form of short notes from his mother, Christina Zavala, alongside his lunch.
The young boy distributed the Bible verses while standing on a public sidewalks outside the school.
He also shared other verses and short Bible stories among his friends, until a first-grade teacher saw one of those notes. The teacher reportedly publicly rebuked the boy, and then called his parents, warning them that such actions go against the separation of church and state.
The boy, however, allegedly continued to distribute Bible verses out at the school gate, and subsequently he and his parents were told by the school's principal that what they were doing is not permitted.
Later that day, a Los Angeles deputy sheriff went to the family's home to inform the parents that Desert Rose Elementary School had filed a report against the child for sharing Bible verses.
The Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit litigation organization which specializes in defending religious freedom, has since sent a letter to the Palmdale School District to inform the administration of the correct interpretation of the clause establishing separation of church and state, arguing that pupils have the right to exercise freedom of speech through printed materials.
"Therefore, it was improper to ban student religious discussion during lunchtime. The district cannot suppress and censor this discussion, or the one-page notes consisting of Bible stories and verses placed by C's mother in C 's lunch for his own personal enjoyment and edification; which he voluntarily chose to share with his little friends during non-instructional time; which interested classmates were free to accept or refuse, at their own discretion," the letter stated.
"The additional copies requested by C from his mother, for his friends (who had specifically requested them from him), are likewise protected, and fall into no classification of material that might be lawfully prohibited by the school district," it added.
"The consigning of C's speech to the 'schoolhouse gate,' and then the prohibition of it even there, is unconstitutional, and must fall. Finally, if being censured for religious expression by one's First Grade teacher in front of one's classmates is not intimidating and humiliating enough, the message of hostility to a child's religious expression is underscored by the District calling law enforcement for a 'follow-up visit ' to his house."
Public schools in America often face questions regarding the separation of church and state when it comes to Bible verses used on school campus.
Some compromises include allowing the distribution of biblical material have allowed other groups to hand out their religious, or anti-religious material, such as atheist handbooks, and satanist pamphlets.