Northmoreland Baptist Church recently built a new facility in order to carry on its Gospel mission more effectively. Wyoming County, however, has assessed property taxes for part of the church’s facility, namely the Fellowship Hall. The county claims that such an area is not entitled to a religious exemption. Through our Independence Law Center, our team of attorneys is providing free legal representation to the church in this case, and to make it clear to the court and the county that the church’s activities, such as vacation Bible school, baptismal classes, Sunday school, and fellowship meals are part of the church’s religious mission and that no part of this church’s property should be taxed.

Throughout our Commonwealth’s history, we have recognized that churches are vital to our communities and should be protected from governmental intrusion. However, there is a current trend to ignore this history and the constitutional protections afforded churches as local government seeks new sources of revenue. We were in court not only to protect the Northmoreland Baptist Church but also to protect the liberty of churches throughout our Commonwealth. As the late Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall famously stated, “the power to tax involves the power to destroy.”

A judge in Allegheny County denied a judicial bypass. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court took the case even though the child tragically had the abortion anyway. Because denials are so rare, the Supreme Court wanted to issue a decision to give direction to appellate courts reviewing such denials. This appears to be only the second denial appealed in this state and the first appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in more than two decades.

We are pleased to announce that the Court provided the direction that we requested in our amici (“friend of the court”) brief. Judges are now given wide latitude in their investigation of the maturity of a minor. This will hopefully encourage more judges to conduct robust hearings —hearings that will ultimately protect the life of the unborn — and respect parental authority. We are grateful to God for one more win in our battle to protect the life of every unborn child.

This is a case where government doesn’t understand its appropriate limits. However, lawyers with the Independence Law Center and Alliance Defense Fund were available for this case—and plan to continue their involvement as long as necessary to change the policies in the school and ensure religious liberty and freedom of speech.

Instead, he was sent to the principal’s office because one teacher though the message may be inappropriate. The principal agreed, believing that someone might get offended. He was ordered to wear his t-shirt inside out so that his message wouldn’t pollute the school. Breathtaking. However, in light of school policies that prohibit speech involving a religious point of view or that give school officials discretion to determine what’s “inappropriate,” it’s not surprising.

The Independence Law Center, in cooperation with the Alliance Defense Fund, brought suit on behalf of the student—which brought about a change in policy. Our hope is that this suit will cause other school districts to reevaluate their policies so that truly harmful speech can be limited without stopping the core political and religious speech of students.

The United States Supreme Court has been clear in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, 530 U.S. 640 (2000), that private groups have the right to associate with whom they wish. The Boy Scouts need not allow homosexual scout leaders. In the same way, a private organization, particularly a religious organization, need not open up its facilities for a ceremony that is contrary to their mission and beliefs.