A young girl went to preschool and summer school at Mt. Erie Christian Academy, but was eventually kicked out for having two moms.
Lashaune is serving her country in the Navy and currently away on deployment. Sheena is a stay-at-home mom. The two of them have a five-year-old daughter, and together, they are one big happy family. Unfortunately, their daughter’s school no longer wants anything to do with them.
After attending both preschool and summer school at the Mt. Erie Christian Academy in San Diego, the school’s director says the five-year-old was kicked out of school because her parents are lesbians. “The Bible says homosexuality is a sin. We don’t condone any sinful lifestyles,†KGTV News reports her saying.
Filings with the federal government show that Mt. Erie does not receive public funds, and according to San Diego attorney Eugene Iredale, the First Amendment allows the school to bar a student whose parents’ lifestyle doesn’t meet their religious beliefs.
“Religions and religious institutions, that do not in their activity receive public money, have the right to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation if that is part of their religious tradition,” Iredale told KGTV. Â
“Now the question is where do you draw the line?†Iredale, who believes the U.S. Supreme Court will eventually need to decide a case like this asked. “If you have a religion that believed in human sacrifice or amputation of the arm or the hand for theft, would we permit that in the interest of permitting the free practice of one’s religion? I don’t think so, and one could argue that psychologically… this is as devastating to the little 5-year-old girl as some of those other vicious practices.”
That comment predictably upset conservatives. “I sincerely hope he’s been misquoted,†David French wrote in an article for the conservative National Review. “This should be an open-and-shut case, for the school,†French added. “It’s not a public institution, it doesn’t take public funds,” he wrote, and pointed to the school’s handbook which, he says, includes a “crystal-clear statement.”
Mt. Erie Christian Academy is a religious, Bible-believing institution providing education in a distinct Christian environment, and it believes that its biblical role is to work in conjunction with the home to mold students to be Christ like. On those occasions in which the atmosphere or conduct within a particular home is counter to or in opposition to the biblical lifestyle that the school teaches, the school reserves the right, within its sole discretion, to refuse admission of an applicant or to discontinue enrollment of a student. This includes, but is not necessarily limited to, living in, condoning or supporting sexual immorality; practicing homosexual lifestyle or alternative gender identity; promoting such practices; or otherwise having the inability to support the moral principles of the school (Leviticus 20:13a; Romans 1:21-27; Matthew 19:4-6; I Corinthians 6:9-20).”
The above “statement†in the school’s handbook is actually listed after their non-discrimination policy according to KGTV. Keep in mind that the Leviticus verse quoted in the statement calls for homosexuals to be put to death.
Sheena is upset with the school for making the decision that her daughter is no longer welcomed. “If we knew from the beginning that this was unacceptable, they didn’t condone or believe in this, if it was such a big deal, we would have never started her off there,” she said. “I would never put my child’s emotional wellbeing in an unstable setting like that.”
Sheena is ready to fight against “legal discrimination.” What do you think? Does she have a case? Does it matter that the school is not publicly funded? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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