Liberty Counsel Defends Gideons

St. Louis, MO – Liberty Counsel, along with co-counsel David Limbaugh, is defending a lawsuit filed by the ACLU against the South Iron R-1 School District. The ACLU is attempting to restrict the Gideons from making Bibles available to fifth graders at South Iron Elementary School.

It has long been the practice of the District’s Superintendent to allow many groups to present information to students at District schools. These groups included, among others, the Army Corps of Engineers, Red Cross, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Iron County Health Department, Missouri Water Patrol, Missouri Highland Healthcare, and Union Pacific Railroad. The District has an open access policy and has not limited access to any particular groups. In accordance with its policy, the District also authorized access to schools by the Gideons, although the Gideons were only allowed to present information during the last hour of the day, which is a study period. The other groups were permitted access to the students during classroom time.

David Limbaugh, who authored the book Persecution, and whose brother is radio personality Rush Limbaugh, is co-counsel on this case. Mr. Limbaugh’s book, which overviews religious liberty litigation, references Liberty Counsel and its cases many times. Mr. Limbaugh and his firm recommended to the District that Liberty Counsel be brought in to assist in defending the suit against the ACLU. The District approved the request, and Liberty Counsel has now joined the legal defense team as lead counsel.

Mr. Limbaugh’s book has been widely read. Enrolled at Liberty University School of Law in Lynchburg, Virginia, are two students who decided to attend the School of Law after reading Persecution. They are scheduled to graduate next year. Liberty Counsel’s Virginia office is located one floor above the law school and provides internship, externship and clerkship opportunities to students interested in constitutional law and public policy.

Anita L. Staver, President of Liberty Counsel, stated: “We are pleased to defend the actions of the South Iron R-1 School District against unfounded attacks by the ACLU. The District is providing equal access. The ACLU might not like the fact that equal access means equal access for religious speech, but equal treatment is required by the Constitution.”
The First Amendment provides that community groups must receive equal treatment under an open access policy. The Constitution does not pick and choose between viewpoints on permissible subject matters. Religious viewpoints are clearly protected.

Mat Staver is the founder of the Liberty Counsel and the interim Dean of Liberty School of Law.