Texas judge rules that cheerleaders may display Bible banners

[Valin]

Reuters:

Jim Forsyth

SAN ANTONIO | Wed May 8, 2013

 

(Reuters) - A Texas judge on Wednesday ruled that the "Bible banners" waved by cheerleaders during football games in a small school district are constitutionally protected free speech and that the tradition will be allowed to continue.

 

No law "prohibits the cheerleaders from using religious-themed banners at school sporting events," State District Judge Steven Thomas wrote in a two-page final ruling. He had temporarily ruled in favor of the cheerleaders in October.

 

For generations it has been a tradition in Kountze, a town of 2,100 in the Piney Woods of east Texas, for cheerleaders to write Bible verses and religious messages - such as, "If God is with us, who can be against us?" - on large sheets of paper. The football players run through the banners when they take the field for home games.

 

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Wisconsin-based group that promotes the separation of church and state, sent the Kountze superintendent a letter last fall, complaining that the banners were a violation of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, which states that the government "shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."

(Snip)

 

[Draggingtree]

Statement on Kountze High School Cheerleaders’ Victory

 

Wednesday, May 08, 2013 • Austin, Texas • Press Release

 

Statement by Gov. Rick Perry regarding the Kountze High School cheerleaders' victory:

Today's ruling is a win for free speech and religious freedom. The Kountze High School cheerleaders showed great resolve and maturity beyond their years in standing up for their beliefs and constitutional rights. I'm proud of them and I celebrate this victory alongside them. http://governor.state.tx.us/news/press-release/18487/