By Christian Headlines | Created at 2024-12-05 17:20:28 | Updated at 2024-12-26 01:23:03
2 weeks ago
The Good News Club, a Christian youth organization, has secured the right to operate in every school district in the state of Hawaii and have equal access to all public school facilities. As reported by The Christian Post, a permanent statewide injunction was obtained last month by the Christian conservative legal center Liberty Counsel, enabling the Good News Club, a campus ministry of Child Evangelism Fellowship, to function in all Aloha State school districts and have the same access to all public school facilities as any other group.
"This is a welcomed win not only for CEF Hawaii but for all Christian groups in the public square," said Acting CEF Vice President of Administration Fred Pry in a statement shared with CP. "The Constitution is crystal clear that the government cannot discriminate on the basis of religion or free speech."
He contended that all children "deserve the opportunity to hear the truth about the life-saving Gospel of Jesus Christ.
"CEF will continue to fight for equal rights and access in public schools," Pray said. "We have had at least 200 cases and never lost one."
Liberty Counsel filed a lawsuit in January after four Hawaiian school districts banned Good News Clubs from gathering on public school campuses. According to the complaint, the school districts violated the First and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution by allowing similar secular organizations to use school facilities while denying the Good News Club the same opportunity.
Five months later, Liberty Counsel obtained a preliminary injunction ruling that the Hawaii Department of Education and the six elementary schools named in the lawsuit must allow Good News Clubs, like any other, to have the right to gather at school facilities. Furthermore, a permanent injunction, issued Nov. 19, had a wider reach, providing that Good News Clubs had the right to meet at any public school campus in the state.
This decision is in accordance with a 2001 Supreme Court ruling in Good News Club v. Milford Central School, which concluded that public schools could not restrict the rights of Christian clubs after Milford Central School in Milford, New York, attempted to restrict Good News Club from hosting meetings on its public school campuses.
"Milford's restriction violates the Club's free speech rights, and no Establishment Clause concern justifies that violation," the court stated at the time.
Nevertheless, the Good News Club continues to fight for its ability to operate in public schools over two decades later.
At the present time, Liberty Counsel is "preparing another lawsuit against a school district in California," adding, "In that district, every view is welcome — except for the Christian club."
"Liberty Counsel has never lost a Good News Club case," the law firm asserted.
Photo Credit: ©Facebook/Hawai’i Public Schools
