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And the Christian Legal Society shall lie down with Lambda Legal Defense...

When conservative Christian groups agree with gay rights groups, when arch-conservatives in the vein of Ann Coulter line up with the ACLU ... can moshiach be far behind?

For those who haven't heard: Earlier this week, the United States Supreme Court rendered its controversial decision in Morse v. Frederick, in which a high school student was suspended for displaying a banner that said "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" across the street from his school. The student claimed that he simply meant the sign to be funny. It appears that he was seeking attention during the Olympic torch run past his school, and probably wanted to annoy his principal. The principal and the school defended their actions, claiming that this banner was a pro-drug message and they had the right to suppress student speech regarding drugs.

The case attracted attention across the political spectrum, and garnered a remarkable array of amicus curiae briefs (arguments by "friends of the court," people not directly involved in the case, advocating one side or the other). Both conservative Christians and drug legalization advocates lined up with the student ... drug advocates presumably agreeing with the "bong hits" part of the sign while Christians favored the "4 Jesus" part. Gays and conservatives both sided with the student, recognizing that their points of view are offensive to some and that this case could allow schools to censor their side of a debate. The ACLU has a lengthy list of pro-student amicus briefs on their website, linked below, and the ACLU list links to the complete text of each brief.

Unfortunately, the Supreme Court took the side of the school, but conservative Christians will be pleased to know that the court took issue only with the "bong hits" part of the sign and not with the "4 Jesus" part of the sign. The High Court upheld the suspension on grounds that preventing illegal drug use is part of the school's mission.

The following links go to sites not under my control. They were accurate at the time I wrote this post, but may disappear at any time:

Comments

reddhairedgirl said…
I haven't been able to find a way to contact you, so I'm doing it here! :) I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate this website!! I am a gentile and a Christian. As I study the old testament and try to understand the context of Jesus' upbringing as a jewish infant/toddler/boy/man I am grateful for the insight you have provided me and the interest in the jewish culture, history and faith you have stirred in me!
8/09/2007 10:25 AM
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