A federal appeals court has overturned a lower court ruling that upheld the removal of Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) from a Minnesota public school.
The court ruled that the Minneapolis Special School District No. 1 engaged in viewpoint discrimination when it removed CEF from the after-school program (see earlier story).
Mat Staver of the Liberty Counsel says the district was wrong to believe the club had to be treated differently because of its Christian viewpoint.
"That is exactly the opposite of what the school should be doing," he asserts. "They should be at least neutral in the situation and not censure the message solely because the message is from a Christian viewpoint."
He says the only rationale for discriminating against CEF is ignorance of the law or outright animosity toward Christianity.
"This particular court ultimately found that this was unconstitutional, that CEF and the Good News network have a First Amendment right to engage in religious viewpoints. In other words, [it is] permissible subject matter," Staver tells OneNewsNow. "So, this is a great victory. We are very excited."
The attorney adds that the appeals court ruling is solid, so he doubts the schools will appeal this case to the U.S. Supreme Court.