The desire of Middleton school officials to stop the
so-called “Jesus Lunch” is ignorant at best and malicious at worst. The fact
stands that students that attend a school with an open campus lunch can eat
where they want and talk about whatever they want with whomever they choose.
Yes the school owns the land, but they have leased it to be used as a public park. In leasing the park for
public use the school loses, to some degree, authority over how it is used. The
Jesus Lunch in no way violates the First Amendment as any other group is free
to meet to discuss topics of their choice. On the contrary, attempting to
prevent or otherwise limit free citizens from discussing topics of their choice
on public property during their free time violates the First Amendment! No
state agency or official has the right to prevent citizens of a free republic
from talking about their beliefs as they share a meal at a public park. Any
attempt to do so is tyranny of the basest sort. Whatever one’s beliefs, we
should unite in protecting the right to freely assemble and discuss ideas.
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