The Moral Liberal

By T.F. Stern,

An AP story out of Bridgeport Connecticut: U.S. District Court Judge Janet Hall ruled “two public high schools can’t hold their graduations inside a church because that would be an unconstitutional endorsement of religion .”

If each student had to “cross” him/herself as they picked up a diploma on stage from the Reverend Mother, said Hail Mary a couple of times and vowed celibacy until they were legally married then use of a Catholic church building might be an endorsement of religion; however, these folks simply needed a building large enough to accommodate their needs at a reasonable price. Heaven help the country if U.S. District Court Judge Janet Hall ever has to attend the Supreme Court where the Ten Commandments are affixed to the building, a clear reference to Judeo-Christian values.

Those easily offended might have serious issues when getting out in the real world, a world with varied and diverse situations. They’ll need to wear blinders or keep a team of lawyers on retainer if they plan to enforce Zero Tolerance Politically Correct values; better yet, stay home where it’s perfectly safe.

Churches have been opening their facilities for weather related emergencies such as blizzards, hurricanes and flooding for as long as I can remember and nobody complained about the building’s primary intended use; either for spiritual salvation or temporal survival. The structures served to fill the needs of the community for the moment and nothing more.

Maybe U.S. District Court Judge Janet Hall has interpreted the constitution to suit her likes and dislikes rather than what’s actually written therein. Dare I bring up the phrase Activist Judge? If the shoe fits…

I wonder if anyone complained about using the Cultural Hall at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint buildings in Slidell, Louisiana after Hurricane Ike or Hurricane Katrina as a staging area for chain saw crews going out to help anyone in need, emergency provisions and temporary shelter for those left homeless? Would the welcome sign in front of the building render such a facility unfit for community use, U.S. District Court Judge Janet Hall; just wondering out loud?

The Moral Lib­eral asso­ciate edi­tor, T.F. Stern, is a retired City of Hous­ton police offi­cer, self-employed lock­smith, and gifted polit­i­cal and social com­men­ta­tor. His pop­u­lar and insight­ful blog, T.F. Sterns Rant­i­ngs, has been up and at it since Jan­u­ary of 2005.