Good news, but expect the offended atheist to take the case up to the next level.
AUSTIN, Texas A judge says an East Texas school district policy barring cheerleaders from quoting biblical scripture on banners at high school football games appears to violate their free speech rights.
KFDM television in Beaumont reports that District Judge Steve Thomas issued an injunction allowing the Kountze (KOONTZ) High School cheerleaders to continue displaying such banners pending the outcome of a lawsuit about the matter. He previously granted a temporary restraining order allowing the practice to continue.
The school district ordered the cheerleaders to stop quoting Bible verses after receiving a complaint from the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The group says it received a complaint from an atheist attending a game who felt the school was promoting Christianity.
Republican Gov. Rick Perry and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott have backed the cheerleaders.
The students came up with the idea of putting the Bible verses on the banners themselves, and the players said that they loved it. But this will end up with the Supremes.
To spice things up. Next time, the cheerleaders should write a Koran verse and ask the offended atheist to set the banner on fire.
But if the school makes the cheerleaders remove the verses, isn’t the school guilty of suppressing Christianity?
Also, it’s interesting that prevailing communtiy standards can (or could back in the day) play a role in obscenity and pornography cases, but any single, allegedly offended individual can trump community standards when it comes to matters of faith.