{"id":123,"date":"2009-02-03T14:39:33","date_gmt":"2009-02-03T14:39:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/02\/religious-discrimination-not.html"},"modified":"2009-02-03T14:39:33","modified_gmt":"2009-02-03T14:39:33","slug":"religious-discrimination-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/02\/religious-discrimination-not.html","title":{"rendered":"Religious Discrimination – Not Economic Stimulus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Barry, as debate unfolds on the economic stimulus package on Capitol Hill, we’ve already seen some of the ‘spending’ priorities of this new Administration and Congress.   <\/span>President Obama wasted no time in issuing an Executive Order <\/a>clearing the way for using federal taxpayer funds abroad for abortion.  <\/span>And, many members of Congress support the push by pro-abortion groups to get more federal taxpayer dollars.<\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

With each passing day, comes more news about what’s really in the economic stimulus package now before the Senate.<\/font><\/p>\n

There’s a little-known provision that should be getting more attention – a discriminatory provision that unfairly targets religious activity at universities and colleges that receive federal stimulus funds.  <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font>Our legislative team became aware that the stimulus package includes a measure that clearly spells out that grants awarded under Section 803 “shall be for the purpose of modernizing, renovating, and repairing institution of higher education facilities that are primarily used for instruction and research . . .”<\/font><\/p>\n

That provision also includes this disturbing prohibition:<\/font><\/p>\n

“PROHIBITED USES OF FUNDS. – No funds awarded under this section may be used for – (C) modernization, renovation, or repair of facilities – (i) used for sectarian instruction, religious worship, or a school or department of divinity; or (ii) in which a substantial portion of the functions of the facilities are subsumed in a religious mission.”<\/font><\/p>\n

Under this provision, student groups would be barred from using facilities for worship or even Bible study if the school accepts the federal stimulus funds.<\/font><\/p>\n

Barry, I am sure you think this provision is perfectly fine.  <\/span>But in our view it’s an unacceptable provision that clearly discriminates against religious organizations that have a legal right to use these facilities.  <\/span>Universities and colleges should not be faced with a decision like this:  <\/span>if you take federal stimulus funds to repair or modernize one of your buildings, you must keep religious groups out.   <\/span>As you also know, many student groups use these facilities for a variety of activities – not just Bible study or worship services.<\/font><\/p>\n

This provision has nothing to do with ‘economic stimulus.’  <\/span>It has everything to do with discriminatory behavior.  <\/span>This provision should be removed from the stimulus package.<\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Barry, as debate unfolds on the economic stimulus package on Capitol Hill, we’ve already seen some of the ‘spending’ priorities of this new Administration and Congress.   President Obama wasted no time in issuing an Executive Order clearing the way for using federal taxpayer funds abroad for abortion.  And, many members of Congress support the push…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":163,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,8,4,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-abortion","category-congress","category-religious-freedom","category-white-house"],"yoast_head":"\nReligious Discrimination - Not Economic Stimulus - Lynn v. 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Jay Sekulow has also served as a faculty member for the Office of Legal Education at the United States Department of Justice.  As a member of the faculty he instructed Assistant United States Attorneys and investigators in the First Amendment issues associated with prosecution of obscenity. An accomplished and respected judicial advocate, Sekulow has presented oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in numerous cases in defense of constitutional freedoms. Several landmark cases argued by Sekulow before the U.S. Supreme Court have become part of the legal landscape in the area of religious liberty litigation.  In the Mergens case, Sekulow cleared the way for public school students to form Bible clubs and religious organizations on their school campuses.  In the Lamb's Chapel case, Sekulow defended the free speech rights of religious groups, ensuring that they be treated equally with respect to the use of public facilities.  And, most recently, in McConnell v. FEC, Sekulow ensured that the constitutional rights of young people remain protected with a unanimous decision by the high court guaranteeing that minors can participate in political campaigns. A nationally recognized and respected defender of religious freedom, Sekulow has assembled one of the most prestigious law firms in the nation.  Founded in 1990, the American Center for Law and Justice focuses in constitutional law.  The ACLJ, under Sekulow's direction, is involved in public interest and public policy issues working to protect religious and constitutional liberties. In 2007, the Chicago Tribune concluded that the ACLJ has \"led the way\" in Christian legal advocacy.  In 2005, TIME Magazine named Sekulow one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America and called the ACLJ \"a powerful counterweight\" to the ACLU.  Business Week said the ACLJ is \"the leading advocacy group for religious freedom.\"  Sekulow's work on the issue of judicial nominees - including possible vacancies at the Supreme Court - has received extensive news coverage including a front page story in The Wall Street Journal.  In addition, The National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \"100 Most Influential Lawyers\" in the United States (1994, 1997).  He is also among a distinguished group of attorneys known as \"The Public Sector 45\" named by The American Lawyer (January\/February 1997).  The magazine said the designation represents \"45 young lawyers outside the private sector whose vision and commitment are changing lives.\" Sekulow brings insight and education to listeners daily with his national call-in radio program, Jay Sekulow Live!, which is broadcast throughout the country on nearly 850 radio stations.  Sekulow also hosts a weekly television program, ACLJ This Week, which tackles the tough issues of the day and is broadcast on a number of networks nationwide including the Trinity Broadcasting Network and FamilyNet.  Sekulow is also a popular guest on nationally televised news programs on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, CNBC, and PBS.  He frequently contributes articles and commentary to national publications and is often quoted in the nation's leading newspapers including USA Today, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Washington Times. A graduate of Mercer University, Sekulow graduated cum laude receiving both a bachelor's degree and doctor of jurisprudence from Mercer University where he served on the Mercer Law Review as an editorial staff member.  Following graduation, Sekulow served as a tax trial attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service.  In that capacity, Sekulow prepared and brought to trial tax cases on behalf of the United States Department of Treasury in United States Tax Court. He also received a Ph.D. from Regent University, with a dissertation on American Legal History, and is the author of numerous publications and law articles. Sekulow serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, DC.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/author\/jsekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}