Today Jerry Buell, the highly respected Florida
public school teacher who was suspended from
teaching after voicing his opposition to
"same-s*x marriage" on his personal Facebook
account, has returned to the classroom. Liberty
Counsel defended Mr. Buell's constitutional
rights and prevailed! Read the details of this
travesty below and see how Liberty Counsel is
standing against similar attacks across the
nation - Matt Staver
Jerry Buell has been reinstated as a teacher at Mount Dora
High School, allowing him to return to the classroom today.
Liberty Counsel Senior Litigation Counsel Harry Mihet
spearheaded our aggressive defense of Mr. Buell's
constitutional freedoms.
Yesterday afternoon, the Lake County (Florida) School
Board made its decision after a week-long "investigation"
into comments Buell made on his personal Facebook page
about New York's same-sex "marriage" laws.
The pro-family Buell is firmly opposed to same-sex marriage,
as are the majority of Floridians who passed a constitutional
amendment prohibiting such "unions" in their state.
The school system Superintendent met with Buell and
Mihet Tuesday afternoon and then announced the Board's
decision.
This persecuted teacher turned to Liberty Counsel for help.
When Mr. Buell, last year's "Teacher of the Year" at Mount
Dora High School, learned of his suspension from teaching
and reassignment to non-classroom duties, he knew he needed
expert legal help. Thankfully, Liberty Counsel was able to
quickly come to his aid at no cost to him.
On his Facebook page, Buell had commented that
homosexuality is a sin and that seeing two "grooms"
kissing on a news story revolted him.
A former student from his school saw his post, took
offense, and "reported" him to school system officials.
Citing an "ethics code violation" pending an investigation,
the Lake County School District responded by taking away
Buell's teaching privileges and reassigning him to
administrative duties.
Liberty Counsel quickly moved to defend Jerry Buell's
rights.
Harry Mihet immediately went to work on Mr. Buell's defense
strategy. The School Board's reinstatement decision came
in less than a week. Following the Board's decision to
reinstate Mr. Buell, Mihet commented...
"This is a great day for the Constitution. By fully
exonerating Mr. Buell, the Lake County School Board
has reaffirmed what the rest of Americans already
knew. The First Amendment protects the right of
public servants to express their personal opinion
without any fear or intimidation."
Constitutional freedoms are under siege nationwide!
The problem Buell faced is more widespread than anyone
might imagine. More and more, public and private sector
employees are being forced to forgo their constitutional
freedoms, especially those holding a conservative
viewpoint (pro-family, pro-life, pro-liberty positions)
that might be considered "intolerant" or insensitive
to the small minority promoting "alternative lifestyles."
Two days ago, Liberty Counsel's widely-distributed news
release said this...
"Public school teachers are not constitutional orphans.
They, like all Americans, enjoy the freedom to engage
in discourse about matters of public concern... If
the First Amendment does not protect Mr. Buell's
right to voice his personal opinion, on his personal
time, from his personal computer, on his personal
Facebook page, then the First Amendment means
nothing."
This type of assault on First Amendment rights - and labeling
pro-moral Americans' comments as "hate speech" - is becoming
epidemic in America. Such vicious attacks are creating
an unprecedented number of cases for Liberty Counsel as
we defend persecuted educators and others free of charge.
This persecution and anti-religious bigotry must stop!
Help Liberty Counsel defend students' and school system
employees' rights from attacks by intolerant censors.
We cannot fight attacks targeting educators like Jerry Buell
without the faithful and generous support of friends like
you. That's why your support is so very crucial - especially now!
I urge you to join with other God-fearing
Americans and help us stand up to radical factions
that seek to destroy our religious, social, and
moral foundations.
Please consider a generous gift today to help us defend
educators like Jerry Buell and other public employees against
this kind of persecution by misguided local administrations
that choose to bow to demands for "political correctness."
As shown by Jerry Buell's case, we MUST be able to
move quickly to stop such attacks before they gain
momentum!
http://www.libertyaction.org/r.asp?U=49207&CID=336&RID=31716716
Liberty Counsel can prevail only if you stand with us!
Jerry Buell is a gifted educator, a good citizen among many
others who are being persecuted in the name of "political
correctness" by a small number of pro-homosexual and
anti-religion activists.
Jerry is not the first public employee we have been
asked to defend...and he certainly won't be the last!
As you may recall, a few years ago the American Civil Liberties
Union (ACLU) contrived a trap in which two senior school
employees in Northwest Florida were charged with CRIMINAL
contempt and faced $5,000 in fines, six months in jail,
and the loss of their collective 70 years of retirement
benefits.
Their "crime" was asking a blessing over a meal!
Like Jerry Buell, our clients in the notorious Santa Rosa
County case were well-respected, outstanding public
servants. Believe me, we are both humbled and proud to
serve such exemplary citizens.
The outrage in Northwest Florida happened because the ACLU's
radical agenda to criminalize all expressions of Christianity
in public settings, in this case taking the form of an
unconstitutional Consent Decree, was implemented in that
jurisdiction.
But, it could have just as easily happened
in your community!
After two years of intense legal confrontations, faced with
an imminent trial and damning evidence of their extensive
constitutional violations, in July of this year the ACLU
and the Santa Rosa School District agreed to settle Liberty
Counsel's federal lawsuit.
We aggressively challenged their notorious Consent
Decree on behalf of 24 students and a number of
teachers, parents, and other community members.
This ACLU "Consent Decree initiative" in Santa Rosa County
was a template of what the ACLU wants to do across the
country! We feel certain that we have not seen the end
of this outrageous ACLU strategy. After we won several
victories in Santa Rosa County, we expect counter-attacks
in other communities...possibly in a place near you or
your loved ones.
Whether it takes just a week or several years, Liberty
Counsel is dedicated to stopping attacks on our precious
liberties!
As I've said before, the reality is that we are
facing powerful and dangerous adversaries on the
battlefield for liberty. It is necessary that I
ask for your help to continue fielding the best
possible defense (and offense!) to counter these
attacks.
We depend on friends who give $20, $30, $50, $100 - whatever
the Lord leads - so we can stay involved in crucial national
battles like our ongoing lawsuit against ObamaCare while
continuing to stand up for the constitutional rights of
grassroots Americans like Jerry Buell.
You don't have to look far to see that attacks
on marriage, the sanctity of life, freedom of speech,
and all the other foundational liberties upon which
our society is built are exponentially increasing.
That's why our caseload at Liberty Counsel is also
rapidly growing!
