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Blind woman banned from park for 2 years for sharing Jesus

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Revmitchell

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A blind woman in Rhode Island was banned for two years from a public park and library in Westerly for sharing her Christian faith, according to a discrimination complaint.

Officials at the Memorial and Library Association, in charge of Westerly Library and Wilcox Park, demanded Gail Blair, 63 at the time and blind, stop having conversations with others in the park about Jesus.

During the chats, Blair typically would offer a copy of the Gospel of John. Association members called the police on June 24, 2019, claiming she "acost[ed]" patrons by "stopping" and "giving them religious pamphlets."

In the complaint, Blair, who worked as a nurse until 1991 and suffered from a disorder that caused gradual vision loss, says she was banned "because of [the Associations's] unlawful discrimination against me on the basis of my disability and my religious beliefs."

Blind woman banned from park for 2 years for sharing Jesus
 
carpro

carpro

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At one time, this would have been a lay down in any court in the land. Not so any longer, even at SCOTUS.
 
Y

Yeshua1

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Revmitchell said:
A blind woman in Rhode Island was banned for two years from a public park and library in Westerly for sharing her Christian faith, according to a discrimination complaint.

Officials at the Memorial and Library Association, in charge of Westerly Library and Wilcox Park, demanded Gail Blair, 63 at the time and blind, stop having conversations with others in the park about Jesus.

During the chats, Blair typically would offer a copy of the Gospel of John. Association members called the police on June 24, 2019, claiming she "acost[ed]" patrons by "stopping" and "giving them religious pamphlets."

In the complaint, Blair, who worked as a nurse until 1991 and suffered from a disorder that caused gradual vision loss, says she was banned "because of [the Associations's] unlawful discrimination against me on the basis of my disability and my religious beliefs."

Blind woman banned from park for 2 years for sharing Jesus
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Wonder if they would have done the same thing if she was a Muslim?
 
37818

37818

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Revmitchell said:
A blind woman in Rhode Island was banned for two years from a public park and library in Westerly for sharing her Christian faith, according to a discrimination complaint.

Officials at the Memorial and Library Association, in charge of Westerly Library and Wilcox Park, demanded Gail Blair, 63 at the time and blind, stop having conversations with others in the park about Jesus.

During the chats, Blair typically would offer a copy of the Gospel of John. Association members called the police on June 24, 2019, claiming she "acost[ed]" patrons by "stopping" and "giving them religious pamphlets."

In the complaint, Blair, who worked as a nurse until 1991 and suffered from a disorder that caused gradual vision loss, says she was banned "because of [the Associations's] unlawful discrimination against me on the basis of my disability and my religious beliefs."

Blind woman banned from park for 2 years for sharing Jesus
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' She denied accosting park patrons. "I do what the Pocket Testament League urges," Blair said. "Simply offer them a Gospel of John, the Word of God. No arguing." '
 
R

Revmitchell

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Salty said:
According to the LInk - it is a public park - what says it is private?
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"Blair, who lives next to the park said she "cannot independently access another public park or another free public library."

"Jeremy Dys, special counsel for litigation and communications for First Liberty, the largest religious freedom legal group in the U.S., called the incident "outrageous and discriminatory" in a statement to Fox News.

"No government entity should ban anyone—let alone a gentle, blind woman— for simply carrying on conversations about her faith and giving them a copy of the Gospel of John in a public park," Dys said."
 
Ziggy

Ziggy

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Their website says they subscribe to the ALA Code of Ethics, which states, "that all individuals have the right to hold any belief on any subject and to convey their ideas in any form they deem appropriate".

Further, from their own site for the Library and Park: "It is our policy to provide an accessible place for cultural and educational activities. It is our policy to affirm First Amendment rights of individuals and groups to express and hear all points of view, in line with the American Library Association Code of Ethics".

Seems they are going to lose on this one by their own words, even if the park is privately owned by them.
 
Jerome

Jerome

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Revmitchell said:
"Jeremy Dys, special counsel for litigation and communications for First Liberty, the largest religious freedom legal group in the U.S., called the incident "outrageous and discriminatory" in a statement to Fox News.

"No government entity should ban anyone—let alone a gentle, blind woman— for simply carrying on conversations about her faith and giving them a copy of the Gospel of John in a public park," Dys said."
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Squire Robertsson said:
Is the Library association a government entity?
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Thank you Squire, another error in the Fox News report!
 
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