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Catholic school students kicked out of Smithsonian museum in DC over pro-life beanies

Republicans demand answers from Smithsonian for kicking out pro-life students

Apparently, not only were they kicked out for merely wearing these caps, they were mocked and profanely berated.

Our tax dollars pay to support all aspects of the Smithsonian Institution. I've already called my congressmen and I've called the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum (for all the good it will do to say anything to these biased SOBs.)

Oh, you've ordered "immediate retraining" of the half-wit security staff? Pointless! FIRE the assholes who harassed these kids and their chaperones.

One thing we can do is to show support for the school. What a twisted world, where simply wearing a cap showing you respect the sanctity of life is grounds for being run out of a taxpayer-funded museum. Petty sons o' bitches.

I wish, oh, how I wish I were in DC wearing one of these caps in that museum. I'd walk past each and every guard I saw and look them straight in the eye. Come on and pick on somebody your own size, stupid. Like Doc Holliday said to Ike Clanton in Tombstone, let's have a spelling contest.

A lawyer needs to sue for religious discrimination
and harassment. Get some college tuition for the youngsters. Next, if the offending Smithsonian employees aren't fired cut funding.

Yeah, I'm onboard with that. Gonna get a few of those caps in fact. My mom would certainly appreciate one.

I heard of this incident when it happened. Infuriating to say the least.

quote:

Originally posted by abnmacv:
A lawyer needs to sue for religious discrimination
and harassment. Get some college tuition for the youngsters. Next, if the offending Smithsonian employees aren't fired cut funding.

Damn, I hate it when someone in the gvm't does wrong, then there is a lawsuit, then the taxpayers shell out the settlement, and the idiots who did wrong in the first place get no or little penalty.

There simply has to be some accountability at an individual level for these people. I mean, money from their bank accounts. anything. No, firing is not good enough.

Students Sue Smithsonian After it Kicked Them Out for Wearing Pro-Life Hats

Jay Sekulow and Jordan Sekulow
Feb 7, 2023

The ACLJ has just filed a major lawsuit against the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum for the outrageous violation of the First Amendment in kicking out a group of Christian students for wearing pro-life hats.

We are representing 9 students and 3 parents who were unlawfully targeted for their religious pro-life views by at least 5 museum staff members and security officers of the Smithsonian on the afternoon of the March for Life. We have just filed our complaint in the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia.

As we have previously explained:

[S]tudents from a Catholic school in Greenville, South Carolina, traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate in the National March for Life. After the event, they went over to explore the nearby Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Once in the [federal] museum, they were accosted several times and told they would be forced to leave unless they removed their pro-life hats. The group all wore the same blue hat that simply said, “Rosary PRO-LIFE.” Other individuals in the museum were wearing hats of all kinds without issue.

The museum staff mocked the students, called them expletives, and made comments that the museum was a “neutral zone” where they could not express such statements. The employee who ultimately forced the students to leave the museum was rubbing his hands together in glee as they exited the building. We here at the ACLJ are absolutely appalled at this blatant discrimination and won’t let this behavior stand.

In our complaint, we provide more detail of how upwards of five museum staff and security officers accosted, berated, and eventually kicked out these students.

When our clients initially entered the museum, they were told by at least two security officers to remove their hats as they were going through security. They complied, believing this to be a simple security protocol for screening. After passing through security and seeing other individuals wearing expressive attire, the students put their hats back on and viewed the museum exhibits. Thereafter, multiple museum personnel told the students they must remove their hats. Staff could be heard using expletives about the students, many of whom were minors, including, “The f****** pro-life. What a bunch of s***.”

Museum security again confronted the students, demanding, “’You’ve been told multiple times to take your hats off, and you have not taken them off. You need to take them off or leave.’” Museum personnel claimed the pro-life “hats were ‘political statements.’” One staff member told one of our clients, “‘You need to take off your hats. We are a museum that promotes equality, and your hats do not promote equality.’” He was “yelling” as he “approached the students and had a big grin on his face and was rubbing his hands together as he said, ‘Y’all are about to make my day. . . . You’ve been told multiple times to take your hats off, and you have not taken them off. You need to take them off or leave.’” He then instructed our clients that “the museum was a ‘neutral zone,’ and that the First Amendment ‘does not apply here.’”

It is clear that these Christian students were kicked out of the museum solely because of their pro-life and religious views. And the First Amendment DOES apply in a federal institution such as the Smithsonian.

What the Smithsonian did is beyond reprehensible. These were students simply wearing a hat that passively expressed their support for life on the basis of their Christian faith. The way these students, many of whom were minors, were treated by their federal government – the Smithsonian and its employees – should shock everyone to the core. It’s not only abhorrent; it’s blatantly unconstitutional. And that’s why we’re fighting back.

Our lawsuit brings claims under the First Amendment (free speech), Fifth Amendment (equal protection), and Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). Our lawsuit makes crystal clear:

Defendants [the museum and staff] unlawfully deprived Plaintiffs [the students] of their First Amendment rights to engage in protected speech and expression in violation of the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.

Defendants’ restriction on Plaintiffs’ speech is content and viewpoint-based and demonstrates a concerted effort to single out, embarrass, intimidate, exclude, and ultimately silence the message expressed by Plaintiffs in wearing their “Rosary Pro-Life” hats. . . .

Defendants unlawfully deprived Plaintiffs of their Fifth Amendment rights by preventing Plaintiffs from enjoying the museum and silencing Plaintiffs to prevent them from expressing a message based on content and viewpoint, because Defendants found their views unacceptable. . . .

Defendants’ restriction on Plaintiffs’ expressive religious activity as set forth in this Complaint imposes a substantial burden on Plaintiffs’ religious exercise in violation of RFRA.

We are asking the court to order the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum to ensure that this type of invidious, unconstitutional discrimination against pro-life free speech never happens again. We specifically ask the court to:

A. Declare Defendants’ actions violated Plaintiffs’ rights under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution;

B. Declare Defendants’ actions violated Plaintiffs’ rights under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution;

C. Declare Defendants’ actions violated Plaintiffs’ rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act;

D. Issue an injunction enjoining Defendants, and all those in active concert with them, from unlawfully targeting Plaintiffs, for disparate treatment and particular scrutiny based on content and viewpoint or association; . . .

F. Order Defendants to conduct appropriate training of employees, subject to the Court’s approval, such that Defendants’ employees’ conduct complies with federal law and the United Stated Constitution; . . . .

We have already heard from more individuals who were forced to cover up pro-life t-shirts or be forced to leave another federal museum that same day. This is not some isolated incident. We are seeing a pattern of unconscionable behavior and attacks on pro-life students across the federal government. This must end. We will continue fighting in court to ensure the rights of our clients are vindicated and those responsible for these actions are held accountable.

https://www.lifenews.com/2023/...aring-pro-life-hats/

^^^^^^
EXCELLENT!!! The Sekulow's are on the case!! They will chop off the guards' genitals and shove them down their collective throats. Legally, of course.

It's the double and triple standard that sends me into a cursing inverted flat spin on a daily basis. I absolutely LOATHE the Left and what they are doing to the freedom, liberty, and sanctity of this country. FUCK THEM!!! I'm not gonna do anything or wish ill to the horses on which they rode...

As for the beanies/hats, I think I'll order up a few and donate them to my local church group. Thanks for the link, Para!!

quote:

Students Sue Smithsonian After it Kicked Them Out for Wearing Pro-Life Hats

Jay Sekulow and Jordan Sekulow
Feb 7, 2023

...

I've been meaning to post this story since it broke last week. Only so many hours in the day for online stuff and the Chinese spy balloon story broke about the same time, so I'm glad this is being discussed.

One detail not mentioned in the ACLJ article but covered on their radio program is that these students were instructed to wear their beanies as a visual cue so that they could stay together in their group without being separated. I'm guessing that's why the bright sky blue color was chosen. They explained this repeatedly to the security guards that confronted them.

As alluded to in the article, their class had broken up to visit different museums, and a different group was visiting the National Archives when they ran into similar treatment.

So, the question is; did two different groups of museum security guards independently take the same actions against these groups of students or did museum security staff have advanced notice the students were visiting the museums (the March for Life is a well-publicized annually scheduled event that these students were participating in) and there was a coordinated response to harass them?

I'm glad to see the lawsuit and that it came about so quickly. If you want to attract unwanted attention to yourself as an employee, pull a stupid stunt that causes nationwide attention and a civil suit to be brought against your employer. If the security guard or guards have any sense at all, they are now deeply regretting using their position as an employee to bring down a massive shit storm on those who pay them.

If the security guards are employed by a third party company- as I was told when I called the Smithsonian- the possibility now exists that in order to save their own bacon, the people who manage the Air and Space Museum may end up cancelling the contract with that company, which means that the genius security guard has pissed off everyone who holds sway over their current employment status.

Leftists are corrupt to the core.

More intolerance from the so-called tolerant.

Glad to hear Jak Sekulow and the ACLJ are on the case. Sekulow has argued before SCOTUS 12 times and won 9 times. He was also Trump's lead attorney for first Senate impeachment and won.

And I'll tell you guys- I have a clear picture in my mind of the "security guard" who caused all this.

Please consider purchasing one of these caps from the school. Not only is it a show of support, it's also a tiny bit of money in their pocket.

Please spread the word.

From the Fox News link in OP:

quote:

"Asking visitors to remove hats and clothing is not in keeping with our policy or protocols. We provided immediate training to prevent a re-occurrence of this kind of incident, and have determined steps to ensure this does not happen again," said Alison Wood, the museum's deputy director of communications.

Uh huh. Sure.

Why do these “training” issues only seem to negatively impact conservatives? You ever hear of someone wearing a gay pride beanie or a BLM shirt being asked to leave a public place? I ordered a hat, though I went with the knit cap instead of the Pom version because they seem to fit my stupid looking head a little better.

I just ordered a knit hat.

Got one headed this way!!

If you are ordering on the phone and use the Apple Pay option make sure you change the shipping. It’s defaulted to pickup at Our Lady of the Rosary. I almost confirmed it before catching it and switching the shipping method.

I wish them well in the suit!

I got a couple of them. Thanks for the heads up.

I completely agree that these students were treated completely unfair and it needs to be addressed immediately.

On the other hand, I'm old school (old too).
Why weren't the young men taught to remove their hat when entering a building?

I'll look into the purchasing of a hat of which I will never wear inappropriately.

Something to be aware of for those considering a purchase...

All orders are collected and decorated at one time so please allow 3-4 weeks for processing and delivery after the online store closes.

Deadline: Sunday, February 12, 2023 (11:59 PM EST)

I presume the above info from the website indicates that these Pom Beanies and Knit Caps will only be available for a limited time, so get your orders in if you're considering supporting Our Lady of the Rosary school/students.

Here's a link to the school website for those that are interested in more info --> https://olrschool.net/

This would appear to be an organization VERY Worthy of support!

quote:

Originally posted by gjgalligan:
I completely agree that these students were treated completely unfair and it needs to be addressed immediately.

On the other hand, I'm old school (old too).
Why weren't the young men taught to remove their hat when entering a building?

I'll look into the purchasing of a hat of which I will never wear inappropriately.

Because attire acceptability/appropriateness has changed.

While there are still times to remove a hat simply being indoors is no longer one of those.

quote:

Originally posted by gjgalligan:
On the other hand, I'm old school (old too).
Why weren't the young men taught to remove their hat when entering a building?

The point of wearing the caps was to tacitly express their support for pro-life and, as the chaperones stated after this incident, so that they could easily identify each other at a distance. They were on a field trip.

So, taking those caps off at any time while they were out and about would have defeated both the stated purposes.

And if you think anyone born within the last two generations adheres to "take off your hat indoors" you have not been paying attention.

Seriously, having been a chaperone for various school activities (ski club, etc), as well as a Cub Scout & Boy Scout leader (countless weekend & week long field trips (rafting/canoeing, skiing/snowboarding, summer camp, etc...We even took a week long trip to DC, which included the Smithsonian!) you're counting heads ALL THE TIME!