-Caveat Lector-
from: AMERICAN ATHEISTS
subject: AANEWS for July 11, 1999
A M E R I C A N A T H E I S T S
#606 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 7/11/99
http://www.atheists.org
ftp.atheists.org/pub/atheists/
http://www.americanatheist.org
---------------------------------------------
A Service of AMERICAN ATHEISTS
"Leading The Way For Atheist Civil Rights
And The Separation Of State and Church"
----------------------------------------------
In This Issue...
* Testimony concludes in Silverman discrimination hearing
* Few in House expected to oppose RLPA
* TheistWatch: Want big bucks? Do a religion-based study...
* Resources
* About this list...
ARGUMENTS OVER, JUDGE WEIGHS DECISION IN SILVERMAN CASE Separation Activist
Smeared By Team Lawyer For "Tawdry Little Spectacle"
*
It's all over but the verdict. That is the situation in a legal
dispute pitting Pennsylvania atheist and First Amendment activist Carl
Silverman against the Hagerstown Suns baseball team which, charges
Silverman, discriminated in its promotion of a "church bulletin"
discount night.
Arguments in Silverman's case concluded late last month before
Administrative Law Judge Georgia Brady, who could wait until
mid-October before rendering a decision. Silverman is asking the
court to end the six-year-old promotion which offers fans money off
the regular admission ticket price to Suns' games if they produce a
bulletin from a church. Arguing that the team is a "public
accommodation," Silverman says that the practice discriminates against
persons who might not have a religious belief.
Silverman, a Pennsylvania resident, says that he to took his family to
nearby Hagerstown, Maryland in April, 1998 to see the Class A minor
league Suns play. On that day, the club was having a promotional
"church bulletin" discount. "I informed the ticket clerk that, 'I'm
not religious and I don't have a church bulletin.' " Silverman was
then told that he would have to pay the full price of admission. He
soon filed a "Charge of Discrimination" complaint with the Maryland
Commission on Human Relations.
The Commission agreed with Silverman and quietly suggested that the
Suns drop their church promotion and settle the matter for a token
fine. Team management became increasingly belligerent, though, and as
the story spread on the news wires, religious groups expressed praise
and support for the Hagerstown Suns. Suns General Manager David
Blenckstone declared, "We have never required fans to have a religious
affiliation to receive our special Sunday discount. We only ask that
they provide a church bulletin."
On June 12, 1998, the Commission issued a "Cease and Desist" order,
and on July 29, 1998 ruled that there existed "probably cause" for a
valid charge of religious discrimination against the Hagerstown Suns.
Team management responded by promoting a "Faith Community Night," and
announced that a portion of the receipts would be used for legal
defense against Silverman and the MHRC. Suns players also began
wearing an angel "halo" insignia on the uniforms.
The hearing before Judge Brady began in late June, with Suns attorney
Joseph A. Schwartz III suggesting that Mr. Silverman "targeted the
team" after reading about the promotion. He accused the First
Amendment activist of "wanting a controversy," adding further insult
by declaring, "This is a pretty tawdry little spectacle of posturing,
trying to set up a case." Schwartz then compared his clients to "the
little engine that could" in standing up to Silverman, and opined that
other forms of ball team discount promotions like Boy Scout nights or
senior citizens discounts were in legal jeopardy as a result of the
complaint.
Under questioning, Silverman challenged the church bulletin promotion
saying, "By publicly presenting a religious document that I don't
agree with and don't subscribe to I'd be making a statement that I
don't believe in..." Schwartz also suggested that Silverman could
have gotten the discount by presenting a copy of an "atheistic
newspaper" or some other item.
The Suns' Director of Ticket Sales testified that he offered Mr.
Silverman a copy of a church bulletin so he could obtain a discount.
Silverman's attorney, Michael Berman, then asked to see the specific
church bulletin in question, but was told that it had been discarded.
He also question the claim, noting that previous accounts of the case
contained no mention of Silverman being gratuitously offered a
religious bulletin so he could get into the game at the discount
price.
The team's owner, Winston Blenckstone, told the hearing that Silverman
or anyone else could have received the church bulletin discount by
writing "nonreligious" on a blank piece of paper. The Hagerstown
Herald-Mail newspaper observed that according to Blenckstone, "A broad
definition of church bulletin has always been in effect." Michael
Berman then asked Blenckstone if he would go to a Ku Klux Klan meeting
in order to obtain one of their bulletins in order to receive a
discount; Blenckstone said he would not since he doesn't agree with
the Klan.
Berman declared that because of the church bulletin discount program,
the Hagerstown Suns -- an affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays -- "sent
out a message that religious people are more welcome than others at
their games." He also refuted the team's argument that Silverman
should have attempted to use another discount program to get in,
comparing it to the old separate-but-equal accommodations outlawed by
the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1954 BROWN v. BOARD OF EDUCATION
decision.
The low-point in this administrative hearing came with the attempts by
the Suns to "humiliate him (Silverman) for profit," charged Mr.
Berman. "The Suns are telling Carl Silverman he has to violate his
creed."
**
PROSPECTS DIM FOR STOPPING HOUSE RLPA IN WEDNESDAY VOTE
News reports and a survey by AANEWS shows that only about 40 members
of the House of Representatives definitely intend to vote against the
Religious Liberty Protection RLPA if the legislation is taken to the
floor for a full vote. It is expected that on Tuesday, Rep. Charles
Canady (R-FLA.), the major supporter of RLPA in the House, will ask
the Rules Committee to approve the measure for a vote the following
day, or Thursday at the latest.
Chris Prokop, Washington, D.C. Director for American Atheists, told
AANEWS that "Many Representatives oppose RLPA, but don't want to vote
against the measure for fear of being perceived as anti-religion."
AANEWS has also learned that efforts this past week by some advocacy
groups to amend RLPA, and restrict the scope of the bill's coverage,
have apparently failed. Two weeks ago, Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New
York attempted to insert language into the proposed Religious Liberty
Protection Act which would stop the legislation from trumping the
nation's civil rights and anti-discrimination laws. That failed in
committee. Medical groups have proposed amending RLPA so that it
cannot be used in cases of child abuse or neglect by parents or sects
citing faith-healing beliefs.
American Atheists still urges atheists and separationists to contact
the elected officials to express concern over the Religious Liberty
Protection Act. The Senate Judiciary Committee may hold sessions
later this week; AA President Ellen Johnson plans on presenting a
stack of opposition letters to the committee at that time. Visit
http://www.atheists.org/action/rlpa.html to read and "sign" the letter
against RLPA.
**
THEISTWATCH SHORT SHOTS
Pat Robertson's legal arm, the American Center for Law and Justice,
has won its case in Massachusetts to end equal benefits for live-in
(gay) partners of the City of Boston. Last week the state Supreme
Judicial Court ruled that the benefits program violated a state law
which specifically excludes domestic partner benefits from public
employees. Attorney Jennifer Levi of the Gay & Lesbian Advocates and
Defenders said that her group was "deeply disappointed" that the
justices "felt constrained by the language of an over 40-year old law
passed at a time when the prevalent view of families was very narrow."
The equal benefits program was instituted in 1998 by Boston mayor
Thomas Menino.
**
Thanks to the annual Templeton Prize -- actually, the Templeton Prize
for Progress in Religion -- you'll be richer if you conduct a
"scientific study of humility theology" or some other superstitious
pursuit, than if you make a major practical, scientific breakthrough
and win the Nobel Prize. This year's Templeton award came to $1.24
million, and was given to Dr. Ian G. Barbour of Minnesota, a
physicist-turned-theologian. That figure trumps the $978,000 awarded
in the Nobel Prize in the sciences. According to the New York Times,
the Templeton is now "the world's richest award."
Pity that it is for such questionable efforts. The Prize is bestowed
by the foundation established in 1972 by Sir John M. Templeton, a
Tennessee-born investment guru who was knighted in 1987. This year,
the Prize was presented by Prince Phillip in an ornate ceremony held
at Buckingham Palace. In addition to the annual award, the John
Templeton Foundation is funding a $10 million "theological, social and
scientific study of forgiveness," a "scientific study of humility
theology," and a spate of new magazines and other publications
including "Science and Spirit," which claims to bridge the chasm
between science and religious belief. Another favorite of the
Templeton check writers is the alleged link between religious belief
and mental or physical health. The foundation is currently funding a
study examining the possible effects of prayer on 600 patients about
to have heart surgery. The sampling is divided into three cohorts,
two of which were informed that they might be prayed for. One group
actually is the object of devotional ritual, the other is not. The
third group is prayed for and informed of that fact.
A similar experiment was conducted in 1872 by Francis Galton
(1822-1911), the English scientist and cousin to Charles Darwin known
for his studies in heredity. He found no causal link between prayer
and healing.
**
With the U.S. Supreme Court revisiting crucial issues involving
federalism and so-called "states' rights," civil liberties may well be
a function of geographical accident and local prejudice. It seems
that the overarching legal question of whether or not the central --
read, Federal -- or the state governments should prevail in certain
contested areas is based on the tenuous assumption that at the bottom
this hierarchy are individual rights.
Consider the decision announced this past Friday by the Nebraska State
Supreme Court. The justices ruled that three printed illustrations
which depict gay men performing sexual acts that have been displayed
in an Omaha bar have no artist value, and are therefore obscene and
should be destroyed or removed. According to the Lincoln (NB) Journal
Star, the ruling supports an earlier decision by Judge Michael Amdor
of a District Court who declared that the sketches "clearly appeal to
the prurient interest" and "appear to have been designed to shock the
viewer and indeed to be offensive."
Right. A bar (or any other business devoted to making money) displays
prints or other artifacts designed to offend and shock customers.
The point here, though, is not whether the prints might be offensive,
obscene or shocking. Indeed, prior to their display in The Omaha
Mining Company tavern, the illustrations graced the walls of a San
Francisco bar for three decades. The owner of the Omaha suds house
declared, "Somebody's got to stand up and say, 'Hey, this is supposed
to be America." The federal versus state debate over jurisdiction is
thus a bogus one; does it really matter is one's essential rights and
civil liberties are violated by the local constabulary, or a far-off
bureaucracy ensconced in Washington?
**
RESOURCES FROM AMERICAN ATHEISTS...
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address.
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other products, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Kindly include
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articles from the current or back issues, as well as special web-only
features. Visit us at http://www.americanatheist.org
* If you are a current member of American Atheists, sign up for our
e-mail discussion group, aachat. We have over 120 participants who
discuss topics such as Atheism, religion, First Amendment issues and
lots more! Contact Margie Wait, the Moderator, through
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founded by Madalyn Murray O'Hair for the advancement of Atheism, and
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