Saturday, January 5, 2013

More Bad State-Religous News

This is a wrong decision by the government.
From the Houston Chronicle: A Harris County court has ruled that authorities at a Houston church discriminated against a disabled woman when they banned her from worship after she raised concerns about restroom accessibility.
Malaika Adan filed suit in 2010 against Beth Yeshua HaMashiach, a church of about 100 for Jewish and non-Jewish believers, after she was asked not to return to services temporarily after a conflict over the facility's restrooms, court documents show.
A summary judgment signed on Dec. 19 sided with Adan and said that she was banned from the church after she complained and tried to assert her rights as a person with a disability. The church was ordered to pay Adan, who uses a wheelchair, $1,000 in statutory damages and more than $52,000 in attorney's fees.....
On Feb. 11, 2010, she received a letter from Beth Yeshua authorities banning her from the worship facility for six weeks.
"I was extremely taken aback," Adan said. "I simply brought the problem to someone's attention and they overreacted."
The church's lawyer, William Cheadle, did not immediately return the Chronicle's request for comment. Worship leader Kathy Elowitz, who had just learned of the court's order Thursday evening, said the church did not plan to pay her any fee.
Elowitz said Adan was not asked to return because she "sowed seeds of discontent" among other church members who are disabled, which she says represents 20 percent of the congregation, and disrespected the pastor.
"We accommodate the handicapped and we do not discriminate," she said. http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Court-Houston-church-discriminated-against-4168147.php
First, I really think it is inappropriate for a government agency deciding who can and cannot attend church services.  What ever happened to the separation of church and state the liberals scream about?
Plus the person suing seems like a person who looks for Churches/businesses to sue after they have been denied access to a building/room/bathroom or whatever under the disability laws.
And if 20% of the congregation is disabled, why is she the only one who is having problems and decided to sue.
I hope the Church (the Church was rented out by the Church from another Church) appeals because this decision is completely wrong.

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