MORE FIRST AMENDMENT HIJINKS
This Arkansas school screwed up badly.
MOUNTAIN HOME, Ark. — A public school in Arkansas told students at lunch that they could leave the cafeteria by a side door and pick up free Gideon Bibles.
Mountain Home schools’ Superintendent Charles Scriber said that’s allowed by district policies, but an official with the American Civil Liberties Union called the distribution unconstitutional.
Scriber notes that there was no religious assembly at Pinkston Middle School, and school officials didn’t hand Bibles to students but placed them in a hall where students could choose to take one or not.
But Rita Sklar, who heads the ACLU of Arkansas, said the school was still “promoting a particular religion.”
In a previous life I was actually a member of the Gideons (Quit laughing!) for a while. We were absolutely not permitted to distribute Bibles in the school. In fact, we had to stay on the sidewalk off school property. And, no, I never handed them out. I was more a give money to a cause kind of member.
4 Responses to “MORE FIRST AMENDMENT HIJINKS”
 Comment by Bonnie November 30th, 2006 at 6:54 pm |
Why would anyone laugh at that? Did you not believe you were promoting a good cause? |
 Comment by Daryl Cobranchi November 30th, 2006 at 8:05 pm |
Yeah– We purchased a lot of Bibles for Russia at a time when they weren’t readily available. But The Gideons are a staple of comedians everywhere. |
 Comment by Tim November 30th, 2006 at 9:43 pm |
Now see, this actually IS a first amendment issue. 🙂 |
 Comment by Gem November 30th, 2006 at 10:21 pm |
I remember getting a Gideon Bible when I was a kid, in school. But then, we had an in-school Bible study too. This was late 70’s Kansas. I wasn’t allowed to do the Bible study — our brand of Christianity was a bit denomination-phobic, lol. |