Dear Brian,
Brittany McComb was the valedictorian at Foothill High School recently. She graduated with a 4.7 GPA. She earned the right to address the other graduates at Foothill, located in Henderson, Nevada.
She gave a copy of her graduating speech to the school administrators. It contained some Biblical references and even mentioned (one time) the name “Christ.” The school administrators censored some of the Biblical references. They also censored the single reference to Christ.
Then the school officials handed the speech over to the ACLU for approval and/or more censoring. After getting the OK from the ACLU, Brittany’s speech (minus the censored references to the Bible and Christ) was approved. Brittany was warned that if she deviated from the ACLU approved language, her mike would be cut off.
Then came the moment for the big decision. She would not bow down, she decided. She would go with her original version. She stepped to the mike and began her speech. But just before she could utter the name “Christ,” her mike went dead. School officials silenced her. The crowd of 400 jeered for several minutes, angry at the action of the school officials. The ACLU was happy. They had silenced another Christian.
“I went through four years of school at Foothill and they taught me logic and they taught me freedom of speech. God’s the biggest part of my life. Just like other valedictorians thank their parents, I wanted to thank my lord and savior,” Brittany said.
Because she refused to bow down to the ACLU’s idol of gold, she did not get her wish. She was censored.
This young heroine deserves praise and a thank you from those who believe in free speech.
The story has been picked up by numerous right-wing religious and conservative websites as another example of the alleged Christian persecution taking place in this country. However, like always, there are two sides to this story.
The school did indeed cut Brittany’s microphone during the middle of her commencement speech. She had been warned prior to the speech that deviating from the text she agreed to deliver would result in this action. The reason was that her originally submitted speech contained what was deemed by the school district to be in violation of the Establishment Clause of the US Constitution, thus opening the school and the district to a potential lawsuit costing millions to resolve.
These are about the only facts of this story the AFA managed to get right in their alarmist message, making the rounds of email inboxes and being posted to blogs all over the world. I spoke to Bill Hoffman, General Counsel for the Clark County school district, by phone from his Las Vegas office. He described the timeline of a month prior to the commencement ceremony. Brittany, as valedictorian, was required to submit her planned speech to school officials prior to delivering it, as is required for all students who speak in the capacity of representing the school. Her speech was edited to exclude specific references which were considered proselytizing, a clear violation of the decision of the 9th Circuit Court’s decision in the almost identical Lassonde v. Pleasanton United School District case. Mr. Hoffman reviewed the speech, made the suggested edits and passed it back to the school and to Brittany, who was then told why the speech had to be edited in such a manner.
At that time, Brittany agreed to the edits, a decision she later said on NBC’s Today Show, was a result of feeling backed into a corner. In that same interview, she and her parents stated they had no word as to why the speech was edited and that the school district refused to talk to them. Once again, this flies in the face of facts. Hoffman’s office sent the McComb family’s lawyer a letter prior to the commencement explaining in detail the reasons for the edits and citing the 2003 9th Circuit’s decision.
Thus, Brittany in the full knowledge of why her planned speech would violate the law and open her alma mater to a lawsuit, took it upon herself to use her position as valedictorian and school representative to step across Constitutional boundaries for the purpose of promoting her religion.
It should also be pointed out that the ACLU had no involvement with this matter in the least. Hoffman chuckled at the suggestion and indicated he was perfectly capable of reading the law and advising his client of the proper course of action. What would an AFA Action Alert really be if it didn’t include some conservative boogeyman?
At the end of the matter, Brittany and her supporters should perhaps go back to the Bible, and Jesus’ words commanding the type of believer who does not make a public spectacle of her faith nor uses it as a way of gaining earthly recognition for her piety.
1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
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