Last week Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge’s office signed an amicus brief in the case of Trinity Lutheran v. Pauley.
In a nutshell, the case has to do with whether or not a religious organization can be barred from participating in programs available to other organizations simply because the organization happens to be religious. This particular case centers on, of all things, a type of recycling program in which scrap tires are used to provide safe, rubber surfaces on children’s playgrounds in Missouri.
Alliance Defending Freedom writes,
“The [amicus] briefs support a church-run preschool and daycare center that the state of Missouri said is qualified for the program, which provides reimbursement for recycled tire products to surface children’s playgrounds, but then disqualified from the program anyway only because the church is religious.”
Of course the real question, here, is not so much about recycled tires as it is about the State of Missouri trying to discriminate against churches and religious organizations in its public programs.
The amicus brief signed by Attorney General Rutledge’s office reads in part,
Missouri claims that its Scrap Tire Program serves to convert old rubber into a safer environment for all Missourians, from those who live near dump sites to children who fall on softer surfaces. So why is it relevant that an applicant for such a grant happens to be a church?
The answer is very simple: It isn’t relevant. Being religious does not disqualify a person or organizations from participation in public life, plain and simple.
If you would like to thank the Arkansas Attorney General for standing up for religious liberty, you can call her office at (501) 682-2007.
