Court Temporarily Blocks NYC From Banning Church Worship in Public Schools
- Posted on February 16, 2012 at 12:52pm by
Billy Hallowell
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Church leaders in New York City have been embroiled in an ongoing fight with the Department of Education over their eviction from public school buildings that took effect on Feb. 12. In recent days, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has defended the government’s decision to kick churches out and to forbid them from renting public school buildings for worship purposes. But it seems, just days after the ban took effect, that that the tide — at least temporarily — has turned to the churches’ favor.
NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg
In a press release, NYC Council-member Fernando Cabrera announced that the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal organization that has defended one of the churches seeking to overturn the ban, has won a court order. The victory will allow houses of worship to continue using the buildings for the next 10 days while the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York further reviews the case.
While this is a temporary fix, Cabrera and other state lawmakers have been working to push through a permanent law in the state legislature that would legally prevent the city from diminishing church rights when it comes to renting public buildings.
“Now that the courts have spoken up on the side of fairness, I call on the New York State Legislature and Speaker Sheldon Silver to move forward with bills that would rapidly solve this issue,” Cabrera said in the statement.
He went on to call the court order a “fantastic victory” that will help ease the fear present among church leaders who are frantically seeking a place to worship since being rendered homeless.
Politicians and faith leaders came together in Lower Manhattan, NYC to protest the city's public school church worship ban back in January
ADF Senior Counsel Jordan Lorence called the court order “a message of hope for foundational freedoms in New York City.”
“The courts have consistently ruled that the Constitution does not require New York City to ban religious worship services, so the city or the state legislature is free to repeal the policy,” Lorence continued.
Over the weekend, Bloomberg defended the ban, saying, “Someday the religion that the state picks as the ‘state religion’ might not be yours. The way to solve that is to not have a state religion.”
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Comments (53)
CARS60
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 3:46pmRenting a building to a church is not endorsing the church. Giving a building for free would be. Too bad the Mayor can’t tell the difference.
Report Post »MarsBarsTru7
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 6:51pmAllowing the church to use it for free wouldn’t be an endorsement of the church either. Exclusivity is an endorsement. A affirmation of specific support is an endorsement.
This is forced secularization and is an endorsement by the government in favor of atheism.
Seeing as how so many of these church attendees are minorities, I think this fits Democrat racism perfectly.
Report Post »carbonyes
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 8:34pmBloomberg is an azz. If New York City has anything going for it at all, the people will soon send him packing and get a new mayor with at least a half of a brain. Maybe hard to fine in NYC, but if they look hard enough, there still may be a couple left.
Report Post »Temporal
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 3:10pmStatism is indeed a jealous god.
Report Post »srttpatr
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 3:09pmOnce again Mayor Bloomberg has gotten it wrong as he does not understand the First Amendment.
Report Post »JBaer
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 3:21pmNor does he understand the second.
Report Post »run2theright
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:00pmnor..does it seem…does he really CARE to understand them. You will never catch me setting FOOT in NYC (or the state of California, for that matter…)
Report Post »Amos37
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:01pmOr any of the commandments
Report Post »blackstone22
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 2:59pmBloomberg is, once again, really on the wrong side of this one.
Report Post »Let’s hope the NY state legislature moves forward quickly to overturn this ridiculous city ruling.
The one thing NYC definitely needs is more people praying.
undercover
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 2:34pmLet me get this straight – NYC refuses to rent property to a church because they don’t want to support a religion, but if I refused to rent my house to a Muslim because I don‘t want to support Islam I’d be breaking the law. As always, with progressives it’s one law for them, another for us.
Report Post »elvisroy0000
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 2:19pmGod so loved theworld he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not Parish but have everlasting life. Tea Party Unite now elvisroy0000
Report Post »JJBlazeReader
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 1:59pm..
How ignorant can the Mayor be? How is “renting” a school building for a few hours on Sunday equivalent to government establishing a religion? No one is being forced to attend nor are demands being made that everyone should convert to that religion. Feeble minds!
Ah, but then again the Mayor wants to distract everyone from what a disaster New York City’s educational system is.
Don’t give up and don’t give in my brothers and sisters, keep fighting the good fight.
..
Report Post »TheObamanation
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 2:29pmI don’t think they want kids to get the other side of the story … in the same building … on Sunday … which contradicts the brainwashing they get Monday thru Friday
Report Post »justangry
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 1:50pmI remember once when Beck did a special on how when Government, Science and Religion fused together it had devastating consequences. It appears that he’s having second thoughts, with what he’s considering news these days. As he becomes more religious, he seems to become more dishonest. I guess he’s just pandering to a different audience.
Report Post »TheObamanation
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 1:57pmYeah … Glenn has just started talkin’ religion … you must not watch Glenn at all
Report Post »justangry
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 2:21pmNot since he left Fox. Now I don’t even watch Fox.
Report Post »Bruce Ellis
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 1:45pmsomeday the state will pick your religion .What ?communist pig
Report Post »Just in time
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 1:45pmThis is a good decision by the court. It allows Christians to enjoy their 1st amendment rights
Report Post »TheObamanation
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 1:41pmSeparation of church and state is to keep the government out of the church … not to keep the church out of government … soooooo … keep your filthy nose out of the church bloomburg
Report Post »randy
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 1:37pmDon’t waste your time reading this book. If I remember it correctly, the author was the man who was fired from his church for not believing there was a HeII….
Report Post »Locked
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 1:36pmDisagree with the city in trying to ban worship in rented space. Good for the temporary block. I don‘t think it’ll last… remember when OWS was getting kicked out of the parks and got a temporary block on that action? Less than 24 hours later it was overturned.
Still, hopefully this turns out better.
Report Post »lynnissmart
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 1:21pmI agree impeach that stupid, derisive, devisive Mayor!
Report Post »ZAP
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 1:20pmI am the church! You are the church!
Report Post »We are the church together!
All who follow Jesus, all around the world!
Yes, we’re the church together!
The church is not a building,
the church is not a steeple,
the church is not a resting place,
the church is a people
SilentReader
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 1:18pmTemporarily? How about permanently? This is agregious that this has to go to courts to begin with! This attack against Christianity has got to stop!
Vote Islamist Supremacist-loving Christian-hating Mayor Michael Bloomberg out! Now let me guess. I wonder where all his financing is coming from? Ah, yes. The Islamist Supremacist plunderers, who want to celebrate their 9/11 victory of bringing down the Twin Tower by building a victory mosque over the ashes of the victims, love him! They even have a terrorist wall of fame in the memorial whereas the victim’s ashes are behind a wall with no names seven stories below ground level!
Ah, yes. The Islamist-Supremacist-lover Bloomberg never met an Islamist he didn’t like! The dhimmi absolutely worships them!
Report Post »Zcat
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 1:23pmTemporarily? How about permanently? Absolutely!!!
Report Post »goahead.makemyday
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 1:14pmI hope that this leads to more laws keeping the government on any level from forcing it’s will on ANY religion. Freedom of religion is one of the core concepts that America was founded on, and in a state/city where property costs are so high. Limiting the opportunity of these people to come together and and practice their religion is diametrically opposite of this core belief. And this goes for EVERY religion, not just Christianity, but also Judaism, Islam, Hindu, and who knows what else. This ban is using the concept of separation of church and state and turning it on it’s head to suit their desires.
Report Post »UBETHECHANGE
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 1:13pmI’m sure most of these NYC church people are Dems/progressives and in a way they asked for it by voting for Socialists.
Report Post »Itsjusttim
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 1:11pmOh who cares about Bloomberg? check it out: in the Epistle of Peter he says one of God‘s days in equal to men’s 1000 years. Therefore if God’s week is 7000 years, then God’s year is 364,000 years. So tell me, what season are we in?
Report Post »Itsjusttim
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 1:20pmThen it only makes sense that we are heading back into a major ice age.
Report Post »mccracken
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 1:23pmYap yap yap.
Report Post »Itsjusttim
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 1:23pmSo right now the season is the planet’s Fall.
Report Post »Itsjusttim
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 1:27pmLook around you, don’t you see everything teetering getting ready to fall.
Report Post »Itsjusttim
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 1:28pmmccracken,
Report Post »You’re going to be on-ice for a long long long time.
Mandors
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 1:11pmIt’s pretty simple concept, if a school rents out it’s facilities, it can’t discriminate against religious groups. That’s it. If the Girls Scouts use school property, then a church group can too. This is pretty old 1st Amendment precedent.
Report Post »GeorgieJo
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 2:29pmMy church loans out a room for AA.
WILL THAT be soon AGAINST the LAW?
America is shrugging.
Report Post »God help us.
GardenoftheGods
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 1:10pmMayor Bloomberg has already proved himself to be No FRIEND of LIBERTY. I am thankful the Judiciary has come down on the side of freedom (for now).
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 1:01pmThe buildings are not OWNED by “THE GOVERNMENT”, they are owned by “THE PUBLIC”. The Government , is just a crowd of temporary stewards of what the PUBLIC owns. The current crop of stewards are acting as if they OWN the buildings. This will end.
Report Post »susie4dy
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 1:00pmHow about NYC impeach the Major!
Report Post »pap pap
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 12:58pmThe Churches are renting the space. When you rent something it is yours for a while and therefore it should be treated separately from doing worship on public property because it is the Churches property temporarily.
This block gets a big Hoorah from me.
Report Post »Obama Snake Oil Co
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 1:07pmA part I don‘t understand is why wouldn’t the city not want to make some income on renting the spaces? Income NY…you know, the stuff you don’t have to pay out, it can actually, flow in. Secondly, school districts often reflect the people that live there and their religion. If they get into a bidding between islam, protestant or catholic…whatever, you can bid the space out and make income. This only proves that the govenment cannot ever do anything right, the err with stupid….
Report Post »J.C. McGlynn
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 1:13pmAren’t the cities all saying that they need more money for the schools? What you point out, but not say, is this a win-win situation that for both sides
Report Post »Drum Man
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 12:58pmA court with a Common Sense ruling? I’m shocked. In a good way…
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