Valedictorian Silenced Over Her Christian Faith Will Go to Court
By Nathan Burchfiel
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
December 19, 2006

(CNSNews.com) - A high school student whose commencement speech was cut off when she spoke about her Christian faith will have her case heard in a federal court.

A federal judge in Nevada ruled Monday that a debate over freedom of religious expression in public school commencement ceremonies will go to court.

The charges stem from a June 15 incident at Foothill High School in Henderson, Nevada, when school administrators cut off valedictorian Brittany McComb's commencement speech after she strayed from a pre-approved script. Earlier, they had removed from her speech references to the Bible and her faith.

McComb described God's love as "something we all desire. It's unprejudiced, it's merciful, it's free, it's real, it's huge, and it's everlasting." Then the microphone was switched off.

Amateur video of the ceremony showed graduates and their families cheering and booing as McComb continued to deliver her speech without the microphone. Audience members heckled administrators as McComb argued with them onstage.

After the ceremony, attorneys with the Virginia-based Rutherford Institute filed suit in the U.S. District Court in Nevada, accusing the administration of violating McComb's First Amendment right to freedom of speech and Fourteenth Amendment right to due process.

At the time, Rutherford Institute President John Whitehead told Cybercast News Service that McComb was not asking the court to award damages beyond declaring the school's actions unconstitutional.

On Monday, Judge Robert C. Jones rejected the school's motion to dismiss the case, clearing the way for discovery hearings to begin after school attorneys file a response to the accusations.

"We're pleased that the court recognizes the validity of Brittany McComb's claims," Whitehead said in a statement. "This is an important first step in protecting Brittany's right to free speech."

Officials from Foothill High School could not be reached for comment Monday because school offices are closed for winter break. Bill Hoffman, general counsel for the Clark County School District where Foothill is located, did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Lassonde v. Pleasanton Unified School District (2003) that schools can censor religious speeches that proselytize because they give the "appearance of government sponsorship of religion."

The Supreme Court declined to hear the case, allowing the Ninth Circuit's decision to stand. Religious freedom advocates expect that decision to be revisited as soon as another circuit issues a ruling contradicting the Ninth Circuit's opinion.
...............................................................................benny

You know I graduated in 1995....and we had some of our school graduation ceremonies at a church and I went to public school. Even 12 years ago for a public school to do this was risky. I am not suprised... we've had it so easy here in America when it comes to persecution... I dont even think we really know what real persecution is.

Christianity is a threat to national security?
by Michael G. Mickey

(12-16-06)

According to a Crosswalk.com article, a group that advocates for religious neutrality in the military, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, is saying that Christian military officers who share their faith at work in the Pentagon pose a threat to national security. Can you believe it?

Here's their logic, as presented in the article: "Public displays of faith by high-ranking military officers project an image of a Christian nation waging war on non-Christians, both inside and outside the United States." Not only that, "The jihadists, the insurrectionists, everybody from the head of Hamas, Hizballah, the Islamic Jihad, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, they see us as invading American imperialists and crusaders."

So, let's see if I have this straight. The display of any sort of faith in Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world who never once told us to do anything over than to love one another to the very best of our ability, by our military officers is going to create a 'bad image' of us in the eyes of those who are already bent on our destruction - the terrorist elements who read and adhere to the teachings of the Koran, which instructs them to kill every last one of us who will not convert to their faith? Somebody clue me in on what we have to lose here if these radical Islamists perceive us to be Christians. Anyone these individuals encounter who doesn't bow to Allah, regardless of their religious or ethnic background, is an infidel in their eyes and, as such, worthy of being killed.

Not only does the Military Religious Freedom Foundation believe Christian military officers threaten the delicate feelings of those who wish to destroy us, these officers' compassion for fellow soldiers who are lost in their sin is unacceptable to the group as well. Why? Because "evangelistic efforts by Christian officers directed toward their colleagues or subordinates" amounts "to "coercion" and "fanatical unconstitutional religious persecution.""

What does it all boil down to in the end? The Military Religious Freedom Foundation is opposed to God and is, ironically, a threat to our national security. Who says that? I say that and so does the Word of God they so vehemently oppose.

Psalm 9:17: The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.

The best national defense system we have, or any other nation for that matter, is God's Word. If we'd pay more attention to it and start living according to God's precepts instead of worrying whose feelings we're going to hurt, America would be safer by far than it is today! Sadly, we no longer honor God as a whole nor fear Him a great deal either which is why the greatest nation on the face of the earth is, in all likelihood, on its way out.

I am of the opinion that the only thing saving America from being judged by the Father right now, particularly at this hour in history when we're turning our backs on Israel more and more in agreement with the desires of the international community, is because the Body of Christ is still working to evangelize the world. Thus the need for those of us who love the Lord Jesus Christ to stay motivated to tell as many people as we can about Him that they might be saved before the Rapture of the Church takes place, which could occur at any moment. It could even happen TODAY.

..............................................................................benny

I can believe they are silenced.
Jesus the Christ said to somebody, 'If I am raised up I will draw all men to me.'
HE WAS A FRIEND TO THE SINNERS, but He now says, 'Depart from Me you workers of iniquity.'
Who is He saying that to, now?
In other words, He drew into the sifter; the separtator. There is a time to speak and a time to keep silent.
Now is the time . . .
Today is the day . . .