Tenn. School District Bans Bible Giveaways
A school system in Tennessee has issued a blow to freedom, banning Bible giveaways on campus.
Bledsoe County's new ban means that Gideons International will no longer be allowed to give out Bibles at county schools.
Gideon Chaplain Charlie Queen says he has been giving away Bibles at Bledsoe County schools for years.
"We simply go in, we lay it on the table, we tell them what it is and who we are, and if they want one, they freely take one," Queen told WRCB-TV. "We do not hand it to them; they take it freely and voluntarily."
School Superintendent Jennifer Terry made the decision to ban the distribution of religious material after receiving a formal compliant. She says giving away that material at schools violates the Constitution.
The school does have a Bible history course that includes a textbook and students are allowed to bring their personal Bibles.
But community members plan to protest the new ban at the next school board meeting.
"I look at it more as a loss of a freedom more so than anything else," Queen said. "We are right here on Veterans' Day. People have fought, sacrificed and died for their country and for these freedoms. Now another one is trying to be taken away, that's what breaks my heart."
