Teen Atheist’s ACLU-Led Fight Against Prayer Mural to Cost RI City At Least $173,000

[Teh One Who Knocks]

The Blaze and The Associated Press


http://i.imgur.com/CmYUk.png

Many Cranston, Rhode Island, citizens likely found themselves frustrated over 16-year-old Jessica Ahlquist's successful crusade against a prayer banner in her high school. Others, of course, supported her efforts.

But following the educational and theological debate surrounding the mural's presence, there's a new point of contention to debate over -- the weighty cost of the legal battle she launched.

As we've reported, U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Lagueux ruled in Ahlquist's favor last month. While the district hasn't yet decided whether it will appeal, the current decision requires the mural to come down and the district to pay for the teenager's legal feels. According to the final tally, the city of Cranston is being asked to dole out $173,000 in legal fees. This, of course, is on top of the costs the district incurred in both staff and legal fees for its own defense.

http://i.imgur.com/BxzeP.jpg

Lawyers from the Rhode Island chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union filed the request for funds on Tuesday. In addition to making the monumental financial demand, the ACLU claims that the lump sum doesn't encompass all of the time that the group spent on the case. Ahlquist will apparently only receive $25 in damages.

Since the ruling, the teenager has faced ridicule from classmates, politicians -- even local businesses. However, she's standing by her original claim that the banner is unconstitutional and she shows no signs of backing down.

“It’s almost like making a child get a shot even though they don’t want to,” she said last week. “It’s for their own good. I feel like they might see it as a very negative thing right now, but I’m defending their Constitution, too.”

[MrsM]

:facepalm: The only people that win are the lawyers

[Acid Trip]

How times must we go over this. By NOT ALLOWING the prayer to be displayed SHE is violating the Constitutional rights of everyone else in the school. The Constitution is very clear.


Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

By requiring the school take down the prayer they are "prohibiting the free exercise" of religion. If you cannot display a prayer then your Constitutional right to freely exercise religion has been nullified.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Wanna know what pisses me off the most about shit like this? And for the record again, I am not religious one bit....I can't fucking stand people that go out of their way to get all butthurt and offended and cause shit like this.

STFU and mind your own fucking business!

[Acid Trip]

Wanna know what pisses me off the most about shit like this? And for the record again, I am not religious one bit....I can't fucking stand people that go out of their way to get all butthurt and offended and cause shit like this.

STFU and mind your own fucking business!

She'll grow up to be Gloria Allred v2.0

[PorkChopSandwiches]

Wanna know what pisses me off the most about shit like this? And for the record again, I am not religious one bit....I can't fucking stand people that go out of their way to get all butthurt and offended and cause shit like this.

STFU and mind your own fucking business!

Why cant she have an opinion. Why does she need someone elses rhetoric shoved down her throat. Would you be fine with muslim prayer flags in schools too? Or just christian ones?

[DemonGeminiX]

Why cant she have an opinion. Why does she need someone elses rhetoric shoved down her throat. Would you be fine with muslim prayer flags in schools too? Or just christian ones?

Because she's effectively preventing other people from having an opinion and shoving her rhetoric down other people's throats, and she's getting the state to pay for it. That means the taxpayers are paying for her whining when she could have just fucking ignored the banner to begin with and moved on with her fucking life.

Sometimes the battle is so small, it's not even worth making a big deal out of it. Pick and choose your battles carefully.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Why cant she have an opinion. Why does she need someone elses rhetoric shoved down her throat. Would you be fine with muslim prayer flags in schools too? Or just christian ones?

Yes, I'm sure she's forced at gunpoint to read that mural every day :roll:

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Because she's effectively preventing other people from having an opinion and shoving her rhetoric down other people's throats, and she's getting the state to pay for it. That means the taxpayers are paying for her whining when she could have just fucking ignored the banner to begin with and moved on with her fucking life.

:clap:

:agreed:

[PorkChopSandwiches]

keep religion out of school, its should be a personal relationship anyway

[Teh One Who Knocks]

keep religion out of school, its should be a personal relationship anyway

Yes, because her singular opinion means more than every one else at the fucking school. If it bothers her that much, stay the fuck home and get fucking home schooled then.

[Acid Trip]

Why cant she have an opinion. Why does she need someone elses rhetoric shoved down her throat. Would you be fine with muslim prayer flags in schools too? Or just christian ones?

Why must her opinion supersede the opinion of every other student at the school? And last I checked a poster doesn't have the ability "shove rhetoric down her throat". It's sits on a wall and is easily ignored.

As for me, I'm fine with a prayer flag from any religion flying. Put up an entire wall of flags from each religion for all I care. It's peoples' right to freely exercise religion and this ruling encroaches on that right.

[PorkChopSandwiches]

We should be able to hang Nazi flags in the schools too

[DemonGeminiX]

keep religion out of school, its should be a personal relationship anyway

Let the whiners pay for the battle themselves, it shouldn't be the taxpayers' burden to pay for the whiner's personal crusade.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

We should be able to hang Nazi flags in the schools too

Nice strawman....take it to an illogical bizarre extreme because nobody agrees with your opinion


Let the whiners pay for the battle themselves, it shouldn't be the taxpayers' burden to pay for the whiner's personal crusade.

^^ This

[PorkChopSandwiches]

anytime someone is sued, the loser should pay ;)

[Joebob034]

I'm not saying I'm an expert on federal laws and regulations nor do I support this girl because I think she's whining over nothing, but isn't there supposed to be separation of church and state. Assuming this is a public school, why was this banner up in the first place? Again I'm not necessarily siding with her because I went to a Catholic school grades 1-8 and then a public high school, but I don't think this banner should have been up at all. The fact that it's gonna cost that much to cover the legal fees is ludicrous though.

[Richard Cranium]

The term "separation of church and state" is not in the Constitution but was a phrase used by President Jefferson in a letter to a religious group.

The First Amendment says "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

[JoeyB]

We should be able to hang Nazi flags in the schools too

I'm for it, Nazi symbolism rocks! Of course...Nazi ideology sucks mega ass. So it's sort of a win-lose.


The term "separation of church and state" is not in the Constitution but was a phrase used by President Jefferson in a letter to a religious group.

The First Amendment says "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

And let's put that in historical context: What he was suggesting is that there would be no official state church, as had been in England and is what led to many coming (or even fleeing) to the new world.

The founding fathers never wanted to keep religion away, they just wanted people to be free to select which religion they practiced.

How about this: let's treat atheism as it's own religion, which frankly, is exactly how most hard line atheists approach it. Since atheists don't want religion practiced in public places, this girl should shut up and stop promoting her religion.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

How about this: let's treat atheism as it's own religion, which frankly, is exactly how most hard line atheists approach it. Since atheists don't want religion practiced in public places, this girl should shut up and stop promoting her religion.

Couldn't agree with this statement more. Because even though I thought it couldn't ever be beat, there is actually something worse than the pushy bible thumpers; it's pushy militant atheists.

[Loser]

How about this: let's treat atheism as it's own religion, which frankly, is exactly how most hard line atheists approach it. Since atheists don't want religion practiced in public places, this girl should shut up and stop promoting her religion.

Or flip it, and let her, or her religion put up a sign with their point of views DIRECTLY NEXT to the christian one. ;)

It goes two ways.

Fair is fair, don't show favouritism, which is the true meaning of separation from church and state. No one religion over others, but that's what's happening right now.

Why not a quote from the quran next to it on the wall?

Where's the line get drawn?

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Or flip it, and let her, or her religion put up a sign with their point of views DIRECTLY NEXT to the christian one. ;)

It goes two ways.

If she had asked, I'm sure the school would have no problem with it, but instead she had to be a LOOK AT ME!!!! LOOK AT ME!!!! attention whore and sue the school instead. She's nothing but an ignorant bitch.

[Loser]

anytime someone is sued, the loser should pay ;)

And FYI, I aint payin shit :lol:

[Loser]

If she had asked, I'm sure the school would have no problem with it, but instead she had to be a LOOK AT ME!!!! LOOK AT ME!!!! attention whore and sue the school instead. She's nothing but an ignorant bitch.

We both know that's bullshit. :lol:

[Teh One Who Knocks]

We both know that's bullshit. :lol:

You can't say that, you have no idea. And this bitch wanted nothing to do with 'equal time', she wanted to be a fucking attention whore. End of.

[DemonGeminiX]

I'm starting to think that it would be better to raise whatever children I'll never have under a religious theology for their sake.

[DemonGeminiX]

You can't say that, you have no idea. And this bitch wanted nothing to do with 'equal time', she wanted to be a fucking attention whore. End of.

:-k

So what you're really saying is that she's a woman?



:outtahere:

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Damn you!!! :x


You made me laff :lol:

[MrsM]

:-k

So what you're really saying is that she's a woman?



:outtahere:

:slap:

[Hal-9000]

I always love the 'pushing it down my throat' comment from Atheists :lol:

Exactly how many Christian followers have held you down and physically forced their rhetoric into you????? :lol: You must be the biggest pussy in the world because any and all Christians I know, are generally passive and weak people :lol:


That being said I'm going to shock the world now.I believe that there's a few instances in your constitution (American) that are slightly outdated...Unfortunately Christianity was integrated into your school systems early on in history.

From Dick's post - ""Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."


Free exercise thereof......perhaps not in schools, but in other places to gather that have sanctioned it.


I believe that religious symbols and words should be removed from public schools (GASP...) to level the playing field so to speak.Part of me wants to agree with the others here and say just ignore it and don't make a big deal out of it...

Regarding what this girl is doing though, I agree 100% with Lance.She's creating the issue and making the taxpayers pay for her crusade...that is not right.



(crusade? get it??? :dance:)

[JoeyB]

That being said I'm going to shock the world now.I believe that there's a few instances in your constitution (American) that are slightly outdated...Unfortunately Christianity was integrated into your school systems early on in history.

I would personally, speaking as an American, say that they are not outdated so much as out of context. What the world was then, and how those things applied, really don't fit the same context and circumstances we have now. The concept itself is valid though, but you can't expect our founding fathers to have been able to foresee the future. I mean, it wasn't Jules Verne who penned our constitution. Or was it? ACTIVATE CONSPIRACY THEORIES.