U.S. District Court Judge Robert W. Gettleman ruled this week that Waubonsee Community College (WCC) in Sugar Grove, Illinois must allow Wayne Lela and John McCartney, of Heterosexuals Organized for a Moral Environment, to distribute flyers on campus. WCC had barred the social activists' "politically incorrect" opinions because the speech was not "consistent with the philosophy, goals and mission of the college."
For background, click headlines below to read previous articles:
Marquette Univ. Bans Conservative Prof, Like a Terrorist
Atheists Force Bible Bans at Colleges Across America
California Univ. Says Student's Cross Necklace Offends Freshmen
Also read myriad examples of censorship of "politically incorrect" speech on college campuses.
In addition, read endless examples of "higher education" hostility toward Christianity in curriculum, and regarding employment, and discrimination in student admissions.
-- From "Federal judge rules against Waubonsee Community College in free speech lawsuit" by Eric Schelkopf, Suburban Life Media (Downers Grove, IL) 1/23/15
“Allowing plaintiffs to exercise their First Amendment rights on WCC’s campus does not amount to the college endorsing [the] plaintiff’s views or speech,” U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman wrote in an opinion and order he issued this week. “In fact, as plaintiffs point out, the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has publicly stated that its policies should not be carried out in ways that impair First Amendment rights.”
Gettleman granted Lela and McCartney’s motion to preliminarily prevent WCC from denying them access to the campus for purposes of leafleting. [WCC] now must submit to the court on or before Monday a written proposal for a reasonable time, place and manner for leafleting, according to the order.
Gettleman on Wednesday is set to make a definitive preliminary injunction order. In response, Jim Sibley, WCC’s executive director of marketing and communications, wrote in an emailed statement: “While we await the court’s final determination, we consider this a matter of pending litigation. Waubonsee Community College remains committed to maintaining a nondiscriminatory campus that is not disruptive to our educational mission.”
Whitman Brisky and Noel Sterett of Chicago-based Mauck & Baker LLC are assisting The Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit civil liberties organization, in its defense of Lela and McCartney’s constitutional rights.
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From "Anti-gay group claims Waubonsee violated its freedom of speech" by Eric Schelkopf, Kane County Chronicle 7/22/14
Wayne Lela and John McCartney, members of the group Heterosexuals Organized for a Moral Environment, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court on July 16.
In the suit, Lela and McCartney are seeking to have Waubonsee Community College’s Use of College Facilities declared discriminatory and that it violates their free speech rights. The suit also seeks unspecified monetary damages.
According to the suit, Lela and McCartney contacted WCC administrators in early January seeking approval to pass out fliers titled “The Uncensored Truth About Homosexuality” and “Gay Activism and Freedom of Speech and Religion.” The fliers were sponsored by H.O.M.E.
In the lawsuit, Lela and McCartney claim that WCC’s Use of College Facilities and Services policy is discrimination because it “prohibits all speech which espouse views which WCC deems inconsistent and unfavorable with, or critical of, its philosophy, goals and mission, but not views that are consistent or favorable with its philosophy, goals and mission.”
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From "Free Speech Victory: Federal Court Orders Illinois College to Cease Censorship, Allow Social Activists to Pass Out 'Politically Incorrect' Flyers on Campus" by Nisha Whitehead, The Rutherford Institute posted at Standard Newswire 1/23/15
. . . In holding that WCC's actions inflicted irreparable harm upon the activists, U.S. District Court Judge Robert W. Gettleman noted, "provocative speech is entitled to the same protection as speech promoting popular notions." As an attorney, Judge Gettleman successfully defended the Nazis' right to march in their landmark free speech case against the Village of Skokie.
"University campuses once served as the breeding ground for much of the protests that gave rise to needed change in the 1960s—protests that altered the conscience of our nation and created a legacy for future dissenters," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of A Government of Wolves: the Emerging American Police State. "We are pleased that the district court recognized the value of free speech, provocative or not, in our society. If college administrators today were allowed to have their way, college campuses would be little more than breeding grounds for compliant citizens content to speak only when spoken to, on politically correct topics guaranteed not to cause disruption or disagreement, and in Orwellian areas designated as free speech zones."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Gay Agenda will be Complete when Christians are Muzzled, Say Homosexualists as well as Senator Ted Cruz Says the Gay Agenda Ends Christian Liberty
