College being sued by evangelist

[frogmarch]

South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (SDSMT) in Rapid City is my kids’ alma mater They were amused when they read this article. So was I.

(S.D.)-Evangelist Sues School Of Mines Over Freedom Of Speech

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) - A Christian evangelist in the Rapid City area is suing the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, saying the school infringed on his right to free speech by not allowing him to preach in open areas around campus.

The Tennessee-based Center for Religious Expression filed the federal lawsuit on Mark Gavin's behalf. It says the school considered his preaching to be commercial speech rather than religious speech and told him he must pay $50 for an area inside the student union. Gavin wants to preach outside of the center.

Gavin declined comment to local media. A statement from the School of Mines said school policy is not to comment on pending litigation.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press)

Here's a link to a longer article. (Awww, poor oppressed Christians. )

http://www.onenewsnow.com/legal-courts/2012/11/14/evangelist-sues-for-free-speech-in-campus-evangelism

[The Magistrate]

1. I Like The 'Commercial Speech' Angle, Sir

Since these mountebanks sooner or later beg their listeners for money, it is correct to treat them as businesses above all....

[frogmarch]

2. So do I. :-)

And you're right - they eventually want donations. I say he should pay the fifty bucks and go hawk his crap in the student union.

[Warpy]

3. Not even there, since that's where students go to decompress

and not be given the hard sell by a Christian bully.

If he's not working at nor attending the college, he's got no business being there and should be politely but firmly be escorted off the campus whenever he is spotted.

And he will be spotted. Bullies are nothing if not persistent.

[frogmarch]

4. I see your point, and

I think you're right.

I don't know what the school's policy is regarding religious preaching in the student union, especially religious preaching by anyone not affiliated with the college, but one of my kids said he'd heard that one of the places the guy wanted to preach was an outdoor area on campus called the quad, and it has never been a welcoming place for soapboxes.

That "commercial" applies in this case could mean he intended to sell bibles.

[progressoid]

10. Yep. I've been in that Union

I did some work there a couple years ago. It's not very big and he would be a nuisance if he was in one of the public areas.

[WCGreen]

5. they make flim flam men look saintly...

[dimbear]

6. Wonder if the mining engineers didn't think his creationism was useful locating ore bodies.

Just a thought.

[AlbertCat]

7. It's the school's property, no?

They can ask him to preach elsewhere.

Congress has still made on law curbing his speech.

If it's State property, he indeed cannot preach there.

[MisterScruffles]

8. Idiot

I suppose I ought to invite an Imam into his church. I'm he'll respect the Imam's freedom of speech, right?

[frogmarch]

9. Oh, sure he will! Not.

If the college allowed a Christian evangelist to preach on campus, it would have to allow reps of other religions to also. Besides Americans (Christian and non-Christian), SDSMT has students and faculty from India, Pakistan, China and elsewhere. It might get a little noisy if they all decided to preach.