A west Michigan high school junior has filed a federal lawsuit against his school district, alleging it violated his right to free speech and to practice his religion.
The suit was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan on behalf of David Stout against the district, as well as specific school officials. Lansing-based nonprofit group Great Lakes Justice Center, which advocates for religious liberties, “sanctity of life” causes and other issues, filed the lawsuit. The center is part of Salt & Light Global, a Christian nonprofit.
Stout and the center’s attorneys are seeking injunctive relief, damages, attorney fees and the reversal of disciplinary action on his school record.
Lawyers for the center claim the district suspended Stout for three days last fall for stating his Christian beliefs in a private text conversation and in a hallway at Plainwell High School. According to the complaint, Stout said in a text that “the Bible teaches that homosexual conduct is a sin” and “everyone is a sinner due to freewill choices, and he would pray for (homosexuals) ‘to repent and follow Jesus.'” He also said he would extend love toward them because “God commands” it.
In addition, the center and Stout allege school officials punished him for “not policing and reporting other students’ inappropriate jokes.” The federal complaint said he was suspended for laughing at inappropriate racial and homophobic jokes as told by other band members on school grounds and didn’t immediately stop them from telling inappropriate jokes.
Center attorneys also claim school officials told Stout he had to stop sharing religious comments on social media.
Furthermore, the center said Stout was punished for others’ offensive behavior at a football game last October. Stout, they said, did not participate in the activities and was not aware of them. According to the complaint, when the high school’s Homecoming king and queen were introduced during halftime of the game, the crowd booed and directed derogatory remarks toward them. Stout, who is a member of the varsity football team and the school’s marching band, was changing uniforms at the time and unaware of the incident.
“My client’s religious speech and beliefs should be treated with tolerance and respect,” David Kallman, senior legal counsel with the Great Lakes Justice Center, said in a statement.
“Public schools may not violate the constitution and enforce a heckler’s veto of student speech,” Kallman said. “Nothing David did caused any disruption or problem at the school. He has the right to express his opinion in accordance with his sincerely held religious beliefs, without vilification or punishment from the government for holding to those beliefs.”
Officials with the Plainwell Community Schools said Tuesday they could not comment on pending litigation.
Stout’s father, who is also named David Stout, said he hopes the suit will clear his son’s school record.
“We have always taught our son to be respectful of everyone’s opinion and to be polite to others, as he was here,” Stout’s father said in a statement. “However, tolerance is a two-way street. David is entitled to properly express his faith and beliefs without being disciplined and suspended by Plainwell schools.”
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This is what it is going to take to take back our country. Liberals have to know that we will retaliate whenever they encroach upon our values, beliefs, and ideals.
AND WE need to use their OWN TACTICS to smack the heck out of them..
Christians are ostracized for displaying their faith but sexual perverse acts come into our homes through television radio and printed matter and that is acceptable? The pleasers of satan want homosexuality to become a normal part of life but followers of Christ know it is a sin. Just look carefully at tv commercials and see how many queer acts are subtly put into these ads. satan takes many forms including educators, Christians, presidents political leaders and clergy. Don’t be fooled by those who try to make us apologize for following Christ.
Romans 1:24-32
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
Okay, lemme see if I have this right: The student was suspended not for telling inappropriate jokes, but for not reporting others for telling them, even though he was changing in the locker room and unaware of the “violation.” ‘Bout right?
Hoo, boy, can you say “stretch”?
Thought policing at work.