Religious Control of Free Speech

Dear Readers, Our right to free speech is one of the key tenets of our “American Experiment.”  We led the world in establishing democracy as the modern form of government.  Even if we restricted who could vote and who could be “free,” our Constitution lets everyone speak freely, in theory, without government interference.

This is a major barometer of the democratic character of a country’s government.  We pride ourselves on being able to raise our public voice, even about controversial subjects.  Social media platforms, although private spaces are derided if they try to edit or control content.  

Yet, as much as we complain and pound our chests about the right to speak freely, our country is hurtling towards a redefinition of how we define free speech.  Less and less, it is about the right to speak freely.  This is particularly true when speech crosses with religious rights.

In Montgomery  County, Maryland, a parents’ group, comprised of a smorgasbord of religious perspectives, has contested on religious grounds school curriculum books depicting gay parents and transgender children as sex education materials.  As parents, they argue they have a constitutionally protected religious right to pull their children out of the curriculum.  

The school board defends these books as having the same type of content as other children’s stories, although with an alternative lifestyle twist.  

What might be done in a private Christian-based school, even if discriminatory, is permissible – private actors can restrict speech in a private space.  This is not true for a public school.  It is bound by the 1st Amendment as a government entity and cannot “ban” books otherwise protected by the Constitution as free speech.  This new argument about a religious right might chip away at this barrier.

The United States Supreme Court is going to be resolving this dispute in just a few weeks.   The parents’ group has lost at the trial and appellate levels. 

Tennessee Christian Preparatory School (TCPS) is just such a private Christian school.  You might remember it from a spree killing there two (2) years ago.  It is located in Cleveland, Tennessee, near Chattanooga, with the following mission statement: “Tennessee Christian Preparatory School provides a quality college preparatory education, from a Biblical worldview, and equips students for tomorrow’s challenges by educating the mind and the soul.”  It is a state-accredited school – the diploma earned there is recognized by the State of Tennessee.

Morgan Armstrong was a senior there this past school year.  On April 23rd, she decided to publish a picture of herself and her girlfriend on social media with the caption “cat’s out of the bag.”  There was a private anticipatory post sent to ten (10) friends telling them, “Go and comment on my post, I have some ruthless Trump supporting ‘Jesus’ mf’s on there.”  

Somehow, TCPS laid hands on this private post.  Ms. Armstrong and her family were summoned for a meeting with principal Kylie Machacek and head of schools Jared Tilley.  At this meeting, they were given a letter explaining she was being disciplined for her “disparaging remark, reflecting the people at Tennessee Christian [and it] reflected on the institution, facility, staff, alumni and students in the most negative possible way.” 

The school’s disciplinary policy about social media reflects the typical punishment should be a one-day suspension for a first-time violation.  Instead, the letter said she was banned from the school, including graduation, and colleges would hear about it if there were anything further said.  

In other words, she was being reprimanded for her private thoughts reflected privately with her friends.  Ms. Armstrong was interviewed by the Washington Post.  In that interview, she stated “Everyone else gets to post their boyfriend or girlfriend.  So just because I have a girlfriend and I’m a girl, why does that mean that I shouldn’t be able to?”

Ms. Armstrong has filed a lawsuit against TCPS.  She asks to be permitted to take her finals, receive her diploma, and TCPS be barred from discussing this incident with colleges.  The school’s attorney told WRCB-TV in Chattanooga, “Tennessee Christian remains fully committed to delivering Morgan Armstrong’s diploma.” 

Two (2) cases involving free speech and religious overtones.  Are we a country in which we use the pretext of religion to control minds or one that values free speech?  Time will tell.

Warner Robins attorney Jim Rockefeller is the former Chief Assistant District Attorney for Houston County, and a former Assistant State Attorney in Miami.  Owner of Rockefeller Law Center, Jim has been in private practice since 2000.  E-mail your comments or confidential legal questions to ajr@rockefellerlawcenter.com.