By Lacey McNeil, First Liberty communications PRINCETON, WV— A federal district court dismissed a challenge to the Bible curriculum offered in Mercer County Schools.  First Liberty Institute, the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers LLP, and Brewster, Morhous, Cameron, Caruth, Moore, Kersey & Stafford, PLLC, represent Mercer County Schools.  The following may be attributed to Hiram Sasser, General Counsel of First Liberty Institute: Mercer County Schools is grateful to have this unfortunate lawsuit dismissed and remains committed to following the law as it provides diverse educational opportunities to its students.  The Court rightly rejected the notion that teaching students about the Bible is always unconstitutional. To read the court’s entire opinion, click here.  To learn more about the case, visit FirstLiberty.org/MercerCounty. … [Read more...]

By First Liberty communications SWEETWATER, Tenn. — First Liberty and the Center for Religious Expression has sent a demand letter to the City of Sweetwater, Tennessee on behalf of their client, Paul Johnson. The letter asks the city to stop using a twenty-five year old city ordinance to prohibit Johnson from reading the Bible on a public sidewalk without a permit. “Every American has the right to share earnestly-held views in public,” said CRE Chief Counsel Nate Kellum.  “No one should need government permission to preach.” “Mr. Johnson does not need permission from the government to express his faith in public,” said Chelsey Youman, Counsel for First Liberty. “The First Amendment is permission enough for any citizen in any city in America to peacefully read the Bible out loud on a public sidewalk. The Sweetwater ordinance is overbroad, unconstitutional, and must be immediately changed or eliminated.” In August, police officers in Sweetwater told Mr. Johnson that reading the Bible out loud on a public sidewalk fell within the definition of a “demonstration” pursuant to an outdated city ordinance. As such, Mr. Johnson would need a permit from the city to read the Bible on a public sidewalk. But, when Mr. Johnson … [Read more...]