The U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision today upholding the constitutionality of a Christian flag displayed on government property in Shurtleff v. City of Boston is welcome though long overdue news. It should be obvious to all that banning one flag – the Christian flag – out of dozens flown on behalf of civic groups at events on public property over a period of years is unacceptable discrimination against the Christian viewpoint. Thankfully, the Court got it right in this instance.
For far too long, speech that has a Christian or religious component has suffered at the hands of government officials who either don’t understand or willfully ignore the First Amendment’s breadth. The Framers took pains to provide a level playing field for religious speech, even as it ensured that no government entity could establish one religion as official. Their wisdom is timeless.
You don’t honor free speech by censoring religious speech, and hopefully this 9-0 decision will send a strong message of support for religious freedom and free speech across the land.
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