Black Community News News and Commentary for Christians
The University of Maine System (UMS) put up for sale a property called the Hutchinson Center. Calvary Chapel Belfast in Maine bid the highest and won the right to buy it.
All’s well that ends well, right? Not quite.
One of the losing bidders, Waldo Community Action Partners (WCAP), did not appreciate the church’s views on sexuality and complained to UMS. The school allowed itself to be talked out of the sale. UMS rescinded Calvary Chapel Belfast’s bid and held a second bid. Guess who won? If you guessed WCAP, you are correct.
Liberty Counsel (LC), the church’s legal counsel, filed a lawsuit against UMS asking a federal court to stop the transfer of property to WCAP.
The court rejected the request, but ruled that potential purchasers would be notified about the lawsuit, which could affect any sale.
Calvary Chapel Belfast appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. The church filed its first brief on Thursday. From LC:
Despite the evidence of religious discrimination, federal Judge Stacey Neumann denied the preliminary injunction request citing a lack of “direct or circumstantial evidence” connecting UMS’ actions to the community’s religious animus. Judge Neumann also concluded that UMS’ deviation from its bidding procedures in this case was not evidence of discriminatory animus.
Although WCAP complained about the church’s religious beliefs, the lower court claims there was “direct or circumstantial evidence” that UMS discriminated against the church based on its religious beliefs?
LC contended in the brief that other appeals courts ruled that “adverse government actions follow in sequence after ‘bigoted community opposition,’ any ‘direct and circumstantial evidence’ of discriminatory intent is ‘valid.'”
To a person of average intelligence, the reason for the sale rescission is obvious.
“Under the Equal Protection and Free Exercise Clauses, state actions must act neutrally toward religious beliefs.”
We’ll provide updates as the case proceeds.
Photo credit: CC BY-SA 3.0, link
Stand up for freedom! Join our newsletter to stay up to date.
