Media Reviews Continued....
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Controversial Football Banners
The article “Protected speech or religious intrusion? Judge's ruling doesn't quiet banner debate” by Mark Wiggins talks about the controversy over a group of cheerleaders displaying religious messages on banners at football games. Kountze, a small East Texas town, has become a focus of not just the state, but the entire country. The High School cheerleaders banners are emblazoned with bible verses used to kick off football games. After a complaint made its way to the district superintendent, practice was halted. He sought advice in part from the Texas Association of School Boards. Parents of the cheerleaders filed suit against the district and Wisconsin based Freedom from Religion Foundation joined the district's defense. On Wednesday, Texas' highest ranking lawmakers voiced support for the cheerleaders at a media conference held at the Texas Capitol. The judge ruled Thursday the cheerleaders' First Amendment rights were endangered and allowed the religious banners pending the outcome of a June 24, 2013 trial. This means the messages can continue for now, but the debate is far from over.
I think that this is unacceptable! I’m siding with the Kountze school district; I believe that the cheerleaders shouldn’t be allowed to display these banners during the games. Kountze high school is a public school so it receives money from the government. The government cannot enact laws aiding any religion or establishing or favoring an official state religion. If they allow the cheerleaders to display their banners they are favoring the religions centered on the teachings in the bible. "Personally I don't think that religion really has any place in the public schools," said Ben Pickle. "I'd kind of be curious how they would react if there was a school that was predominantly Muslim, for example that had Koranic verses." I believe that the kids from Kountze would have the same argument that against the Koranic verses. Source: http://www.kens5.com/news/Protected-speech-or-religious-intrusion-Judges-ruling-doesnt-quiet-banner-debate-174949471.html |
Teen Sentenced to Church
In the article, “Teen Sentenced to 10 years of Church Attendance” by Linda Williams it talks about hot, new controversy over an Oklahoma district judge’s unusual sentencing. Judge Mike Norman gave a seventeen year old teen, Tyler Alred, the sentencing of ten years of church attendance, even though the judge admits it’s not constitutional. Alred was charged with DUI manslaughter when he was driving a pickup truck that crashed and killed a passenger in December of 2011. Including the ten years of church attendance, the judge required him to finish high school and welding school. Although the ACLU in Oklahoma calls the church requirement a “clear violation of the First Amendment,” Alred’s attorney and the victim’s family agreed to the terms of the sentence. This is not a new thing for Judge Norman, who has recommended church attendance as a part of his sentencing in past cases. Norman knows the church attendance part of the sentence probably won’t hold up legally, but doubts either side will make an appeal.
It’s sad to see that men like Judge Norman who are supposed to up hold the law and the Constitution all the time, do it just sometimes. That’s like a doctor who has taken the Hippocratic Oath performing a highly unethical surgery every now and then. This is clearly a violation of the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. In reading this article, I came to find out that not only is Judge Norman guilty of violating the first amendment, but also the district attorney and the defendant’s attorney. All of these people had a say in the final sentencing, and not one of them spoke out against the constitutionality of the sentence. I believe that Norman should resign from his position, because he clearly knows that his sentencing wasn’t constitutional. Clearly Norman isn’t cut out for the job, you can’t cherry pick the constitution and decide when you want to enforce it. This goes to show that we definitely need some judicial reform in our country. I think we need to find out who is really doing their job and who are fudging their way through it, like Judge Norman. Source: http://www.ksl.com/?sid=23047435&nid=1016 |
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