ACLU Files Brief
In Defense
Of Religious Speech
For Immediate
Release
Wednesday, June
4, 2008
NEW ORLEANS - At
the invitation of the Alliance Defense Fund, the ACLU Foundation of
Louisiana
has submitted an amicus "friend of the court" brief at the US Court of Appeal
for the Fifth Circuit. In the case, Netherland v. City of Zachary et
al, the ACLU stresses that the First Amendment protects the right of an
individual to quote Bible verses on the public streets. John Todd
Netherland was arrested in Zachary on charges of disturbing the peace - for
quoting the Bible. In its brief, the ACLU emphasizes that the
government has no authority to censor speech and that "when a citizen attempts
to quote the Bible in public, the Constitution protects his right to do so without fear of criminal
prosecution."
"The right
to free speech extends to everyone in this country, and religious speech is
entitled to the same protection as any other," said Marjorie Esman, Executive
Director of the ACLU Foundation of Louisiana. "We are pleased that the
Alliance Defense Fund invited us to participate in this case, supporting the
right of an individual to express his religious views in
public."
The
Alliance Defense Fund has represented defendants, including the Tangipahoa
Parish School Board, in religious freedom suits broughts by the ACLU, but the
two organizations are on the same side in the present case. "This case
shows that the ACLU is fully committed to protecting the rights of all," said
Esman. In fact, the ACLU filed a nearly identical case in Natchitoches
last year, called Crayton v. City of
Natchitoches.
The
Netherland brief was written by ACLU cooperating attorney Craig Freeman and ACLU
Legal Director Katie Schwartzmann