ACLU vs. Gideons' Bibles

Alliance Defending Freedom sends letter to Ken. school districts advising them of Gideons’ freedom to distribute Bibles

Tuesday, Jul 16, 2013

Attorney sound bites:  Rory Gray  |  Jeremy Tedesco

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Alliance Defending Freedom has sent 174 school districts in Kentucky a legal letter after the American Civil Liberties Union threatened them with litigation if any of them refuse to ban Gideon Bible distribution at their schools. The letter corrects the ACLU’s arguments that such distribution is unconstitutional.

Also signing on to the letter are eight Kentucky attorneys who are among the nearly 2,300 Alliance Defending Freedom allied attorneys worldwide.
 
“Public schools should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said Litigation Staff Counsel Rory Gray. “That’s why the schools frequently allow a wide array of groups to distribute literature of various sorts to students. Singling out the Gideons while allowing other groups to distribute literature would be clearly unconstitutional.”
 
The Alliance Defending Freedom letter explains that “federal cases have consistently affirmed private citizens’ right to share religious literature at public school on equal terms with those distributing non-religious literature.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, which has jurisdiction over Kentucky, has specifically agreed with other court decisions upholding “the Gideons’ ability to distribute literature to secondary school students on equal terms with secular groups.”

The 6th Circuit also made clear that the same rule applies to elementary students. Guidance provided by the Kentucky School Board Association similarly recognizes that schools cannot ban the distribution of literature simply because it is religious.
 
“The First Amendment does not allow religious speech to be singled out for discrimination,” added Senior Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco. “Kentucky schools should not allow the ACLU to brow beat them into a constitutional violation.”
 
  • Pronunciation guide: Tedesco (Tuh-DESS’-ko)
 
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith.
 
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Legal Documents

Letter to Ky. school districts regarding Gideon Bible distribution: (2013-07-08)

Related Resources

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ABOUT Rory Gray

Rory Gray, Esq., serves as senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, where he plays a strategic role on the Appellate Advocacy Team. Since joining ADF in 2011, Gray has worked diligently on key cases to preserve religious freedom and free speech in America. He has served as a member of the main litigation teams in Thomas More Law Center v. Bonta, Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission,Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Comer,Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius, and Reed v. Town of Gilbert. Additionally, Gray has written briefs at all levels of federal and state courts, including an amicus brief in Newdow v. Congress of the United States, in which the Second Circuit upheld the use of the national motto, “In God We Trust,” on U.S. currency. Gray earned his J.D. from Washington and Lee University School of Law, graduating magna cum laude in 2007. Before graduating, he completed the ADF leadership development program to become a Blackstone Fellow in 2005. After law school, Gray clerked for the Hon. Bobby R. Baldock on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit from 2007-2009 and for the Hon. G. Steven Agee on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit from 2009-2011. A member of the state bars of Georgia, Arizona, and Virginia, Gray is also admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court and various appellate and trial courts.


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