Where is the real threat to civil liberties here?

[carolinayellowdog]

A public library with a meeting room policy like many others, or an evangelical church suing a local government with the support of the federal government, trying to force that local government to allow worship services in a secular institution?

The decision makes interesting reading. One highly relevant parallel exclusion is that formal educational classes are not allowed, because *that is not the mission of the public library.* (And like worship services, it is an activity that would tend to require multiple bookings over an extended period of time, preventing other uses.) Should the public library also be forced to allow private schools to use their meeting room as a classroom?

The right wing has a long and ugly history of attacking public libraries. A hate group called the Church of the Creator made a huge fuss a couple of years back, booking library meeting rooms and then sending out literature inviting "all the white people" to it. They threatened legal action against anyone who didn't let them in. Several libraries had awful messes to deal with, dozens of KKK types surrounded by hundreds of protesters, total pandemonium. And then there's the brouhaha over Internet filtering.

Public librarians are in the crosshairs of the wingers, have been for years, and it bums me out to see DUers joining in the attack.

[ThomCat]

1. Get these damned fanatics out of our public libraries!

:grr:

There is no way I want my tax money paying to provide meeting space for churches. Let them build their own church space!

[RangerSmith]

2. So many of us

for years just kind of shrugged and said, "no harm no foul" when any of the little religious things came up.

Oh, hell, let 'em have that! What's it gonna hurt?

Man, ever argue with a fundie?

"IT IS IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE!!!" .... and the spittle flies out the side of their mouths.

It matters not anymore, all of this needs to be fought at every single turn. The leaders are dead serious about tearing down the wall between separation of church and state and they know all these little bitty things along the way matter.

Always, NO.