Religion & American Law

It started as, "enough is enough".  Brian Klawiter, the owner of a car repair shop in Grandville, Michigan, wrote on his company's Facebook page this past week not only encouraging gun owners to visit his shop with the promise of discounts on car services, but Klawiter also publicly announced that he would refuse service to any openly gay person or persons showing public affection towards each other because "Homosexuality is wrong. period". After receiving many threats to the post, Klawiter later wrote another post defending his actions, stating that "the voices of American conservatives are not being heard by the government" and even threatened those that wished to voice their opposing opinions that were customers of his that he would "put their vehicle together with all bolts and no nuts and they can see how that works".

When later asked about the disruption his post caused, Klawiter stated, "Apparently if you are white, you have a job, go to church, and own a gun...That translates into racists, privileged, bigot, conspiracy theorist. Too many of us say nothing. Well, freedom of speech isn't just for liberals". Needless to say, Klawiter has continued to receive threatening messages through his company's Facebook account and even requested the security of local authorities at his home, to which he was denied.

It was later discovered that Klawiter does not have a city license, as he believes requiring a license is a violation of his constitutional rights because it would allow city inspectors to enter his shop without a warrant. The license would also request all of Klawiter's personal information, including his home address, details about his property, and an inside access to his alarm system. This, Klawiter also claims, is disregarding the voice of conservative Americans. "I cannot and will not give up my civil rights, especially when requested by a government entity for which the Constitution was designed to limit the power of. Would you sign something giving me the right to search your home as I pleased?".

As of today, Michigan is one of many states that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation. Several municipalities within the state do have laws against it, but Grandville, the town where this particular case is taking place, is not one of them.

This case is extremely similar to that of the baker that refused to make a cake the videographer that did not want to film for a same-sex marriage. What sets this case apart is that, not only did Klawiter display his opinion on his company's (not personal) social media site and in an unprofessional fashion, but he also openly threatened the voices of those that did not agree with him and blatantly stated that he would damage their cars if they were to ever receive service from him; service from a repair shop without a license. Even though Klawiter's car repair shop is privately owned by himself, he is not licensed and he still is in an area of Michigan that does not allow discrimination, therefore Klawiter should not have the right to publicly state that he will not provide business to homosexuals. To me, that is all too similar to a "Whites Only" sign on a storefront. I also do not think it is right for him to provide discounts to gun-owners, as that is discriminating against personal choices AND religions; not just sexual orientation.

Do you think Klawiter has the right to deny service to homosexuals or the right to give discounts to those that support the right to bear arms? Should this statement be allowed to be displayed on public forums/online advertisements? Should Klawiter be allowed to continue his business without a license under the claim that it is a violation of his Fourth Amendment?

Article can be read here: http://www.religionnews.com/2015/04/16/okla-attorney-general-wants-private-citizens-distribute-religious-literature-schools/

This past week, the Oklahoma attorney general Scott Pruitt announced an initiative he plans to carry out that would allow private citizens to distribute religious literature in public schools. This policy, which Pruitt says would be neutral and would allow all of Oklahomans to distribute material regarding any religion, comes in response to an incident that occurred earlier this month. A third-grade teacher distributed Gideon Bibles to her students at an Oklahoma public school. This led to a Satanist church asking permission from the government to distribute Satanist literature at public schools and from there, debate sparked.

Those who believe that Pruitt's initiative and the teacher's actions were wrong claim that the First Amendment specifically denies the government from allowing public, government-funded institutions to advance religion in such a way. The role of public schools, they claim, is to teach in ways that do not include religious propaganda or messages.

Those who take the other side, like Pruitt, argue that the Free Exercise Clause, along with the Free Speech Clause, allows for any citizen to share any religious material in public. “Under the United States Constitution, school districts can permit private citizens to distribute to students religious literature, including bibles,” [Pruitt] wrote. “To allow private citizens to do so,  the school should simply enact a neutral policy that allows equal access for all Oklahomans to engage their free exercise rights.” The key here that Pruitt emphasizes again later in the article is that so long as the policy is neutral and does not exclude any religion or place any one religion above other religions, then it is constitutional for anyone to distribute religious materials in public schools because they have the right to share and practice their religions in public.

This issue is an interesting one and while it is similar to many of the cases we have read and discussed, it reminds me of two cases in particular. The first one is Town of Greece v. Galloway.
In that case, the Court ruled that legislative prayer is constitutional so long as clergy of all different religions are allowed to come lead prayers. This is a similar case because Pruitt is calling for a neutral law that would allow followers of all different religions to distribute religious materials to public school students. So in that sense, I believe the Court would agree with Pruitt and rule his initiative as constitutional.

Pruitt's initiative also reminds me a lot of Employment Division of Oregon v. Smith, albeit in a much different way. In that case, the majority ruled that Oregon's ban on peyote is neutral and generally applicable and thus, even if it burdens some religion(s), it is still constitutional. The law that most, if not all, states currently have in place bans the distribution of religious materials in public institutions, a law that is neutrally applied among all religions. So even though it may burden some religions, I believe the Court would rule Pruitt's initiative unconstitutional. While a case could be made that the initiative is neutral and generally applicable, the majority in Employment Division would likely believe that since the effect of distributing religious materials could very well lead these young students to ignore laws because of religious requirements or practices, the initiative should not pass.

The issue at hand, however, is also a much different case than the one in Town of Greece. In Town of Greece, the Court distinguished between something being offensive and something being coercive. The Court ruled that legislative prayers may be offensive, but they are not coercing any of the legislators to believe in one religion or another. This issue is different because when the material is being distributed to such young children, coercion is very likely to occur. These third-grade students could realistically and reasonably read the material and decide that it is true since young children often believe much of what they read. And since this would all be happening in public schools, which are funded by tax-payers, I believe this would be an example of government becoming excessively entangled in religious affairs. I understand the decision in Town of Greece, but the people involved in this case and the situation is much different. When religious coercion reasonably could occur or is likely to occur, the government must then take action to prevent this.

Additionally, the fact that these students could read some of a religion's practices and then carry those practices out, even if the practices are illegal in their state, leads me to believe that Pruitt's initiative is not constitutional. For example, if the students read about a pamphlet written by members of the Native American Church and decided that they wanted to use peyote since they were so interested in the religion, then the effect would be more and more people ignoring laws banning illegal practices.

For these reasons, I believe Pruitt's initiative is unconstitutional. What do you think? Do you think that if a law is neutral among all religions, it should be passed? Or do you think the issue at hand is an example of excessive government entanglement?

Kelvin Cochran served 7 years as Atlanta city fire chief until he was recently dismissed by Mayor Kasim Reed. Cochran has filed a lawsuit against the mayor, claiming wrongful termination and a violation of his constitutional first amendment rights.

In 2013 Cochran self-published a book titled, "Who Told You That You Were Naked?" The book is written from a Christian perspective and reflects on a variety of topics including the very controversial and relevant topics of homosexuality and lesbianism. In the book Cochran strongly criticizes same sex relations. He goes so far as to characterize them as "sexual perversion" and "vulgar" and also compares them to "beastality" and "pederastry."Cochran handed out copies of this book in the workplace to fellow employees. An AFRD member complained to a member of the city council that a book containing such religious and offensive material was being distributed in the workplace.

Cochran was originally suspended without pay due to violation of city policy. City officials say Cochran violated city policy by distributing a self published book to employees at the workplace. Mayor Reed claims that Cochran was dismissed not because of his religious beliefs but, "because he displayed bad judgement," and did not follow correct protocol. According to the city code of ethics Mr. Cochran was required to get permission from the board of ethics before engaging in any activity privately for profit. This part of the case is suspect in the sense that Cochran claims "he was authorized during a 5 minute phone conversation with Hickson (ethics officer)." Hickson denies the claim and claims she has no memory of the call nor does she have the authority to approve his proposal.

Cochran and his legal counsel feel as though he was not terminated due to his "bad judgement" or lack of compliance with protocol, but because of his devout Christian perspectives on same sex relations reflected in his book. Attorneys say, "the devout Christian was targeted by the city simply for espousing his biblical views on sex."

ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman said,"In America a religious or ideological test can not be used to fire a public servant. That's precisely what the city did." The first amendment protects a public servant's right to distribute religious material at work to those willing to receive them. The salient constitutional issue regarding Kelvin Cochran's termination is that it represents a hostility towards religion and discrimination based on religious perspective on same sex relations. Cochran's counsel highlights that the city is being hypocritical in terminating him for being intolerant of other lifestyles, but then being intolerant of his first amendment right to practice and express his religion without discrimination or threat of termination. Cochran told a news outlet that he believes, "his dismissal is symbolic of growing threat on religious freedoms facing Christians and other people of faith around the nation."

I feel as though termination on the grounds of violation of policy or for breaking the code of ethics guidelines is certainly justified. It is unclear due to the conflicting opinions of Mr. Cochran and Mrs. Hickson, whether or not Cochran violated that protocol. However any termination based on Kelvin Cochran's religious perspective reflected in his privately funded and self published book is unconstitutional.

Although I personally do not agree with the views expressed in Mr. Cochran's book, I acknowledge that the first amendment protects his right to express them. As often mentioned in class, no one has the right to not be offended. It is shame that a member of the AFRD felt uncomfortable with the content and presence of the books at the workplace, but Kelvin Cochran was within his rights to distribute them and express his view. Mr. Cochran was essentially terminated because the state did not support the views expressed in his book. This shows both discrimination and hostility towards the Christian religion and is unacceptable. I understand that there is a compelling state interest to have leading public figures be tolerant due to their presence in the public sphere, but there is no evidence that this personal belief has led to any on job discrimination or problem with Cochran's work. I understand that if he wrote in the book saying that he wouldn't save a homosexual from a burning building that is different, but Cochran should be able to have a religious stance, regardless of its popularity amongst the city council, and be able to express that outside his role as fire chief and as his role as a citizen of the United States, protected by the first amendment. I think there are some ties between this case and the situation with California judges that must remove themselves from involvement with Boy Scouts groups. California judges can't be leaders of Boy Scout groups due to the Boy Scouts exclusion of gay group leaders and their religious stance on homosexuality. Again I disagree with any LGBTQ discriminatory policy, but I think it is also wrong to disallow the judges from being apart of a group outside their realm of work, they are public figures and therefore all of their actions are put under a microscope, however, they should have the freedom to be citizens outside of their profession and participate freely in such a group. By the same reasoning Kelvin Cochran should be able to write a book containing Christian perspectives without the fear of termination. This case causes the issue of hostility towards religion and now other public servants, police offers, military officers will be living in fear of termination if they express their religious beliefs openly.

What do you think? Was Cochran rightfully terminated? Read the article here.