Courts rebuke bureaucrats for shutting down Christian programming over pro-life, anti-tax views

Vidalia, Georgia, is known for its eponymous sweet onion, available only in North America. Quebec is known for its poutine, a hangover cure across Canada and the northern U.S.

The politically divergent regions now have something in common beyond celebrated cuisine and secessionist history: judicial rebukes for allegedly retaliating against Christians for their beliefs about abortion, taxation and public schools.

Citing a court record "replete with evidence" of a "retaliatory motive," U.S. District Judge Stan Baker approved a preliminary injunction against Vidalia City Schools for kicking out a student ministry over its founder's unrelated Facebook posts that criticized a proposed property tax increase and the quality of its education relative to its "administrative bloat."

Throughout litigation, the district must allow Sweet Onion Christian Learning Center and the Rev. Gady Youmans to keep providing "released time education" to students in the same manner they did in the prior school year, and a "reasonable opportunity" for students to adjust their schedules to participate, as Vidalia does for other courses, Baker said.

The Superior Court of Quebec awarded both compensatory and punitive damages against the province's former tourism minister for "abusing her rights and incurring extra-contractual liability" by unilaterally canceling Harvest Ministries International's conference in a government facility because it opposes Canada's taxpayer-funded, unrestricted abortion.

"Shocked and convinced" that the group's pro-life website statement was "misinformation," "completely at odds with Quebec values" and violated "women’s dignity and freedom of choice," Caroline Proulx ordered the convention center's government manager to cancel the lease "without weighing the various legitimate interests at stake," Justice Alain Trudel wrote.

Proulx's testimony confirmed "there were no directives in place to govern the type of activity or the content of" events at the convention center, and that "she was fully aware" the government "would breach its contractual obligations" and cause Harvest "significant damages resulting from the last-minute cancellation" of its 10-day "Faith, Fire and Freedom" event in summer 2023, Trudel found.

'We will NEVER back down' on unrestricted abortion

Deep South and True North bureaucrats aren't the only ones in recent months to learn the cost of expressing hostility toward certain viewpoints when taking adverse action against groups with whom they have contractual relationships.

A federal judge found a Washington school district committed viewpoint discrimination against LifeWise by banning the Christian student ministry from school fairs and making it difficult for students to participate in its "off-site religious instruction," after school board members made statements that "show animus" to its beliefs about sexuality.

"Every American has the right to publicly criticize the government," as did Sweet Onion's Youmans when he shared "his opinion of a proposed tax hike," said their lawyer, Mercer Martin, of the Alliance Defending Freedom. This makes the First Amendment "the envy of the world."

"Because this matter remains pending litigation, Vidalia City Schools will provide its response and any supporting information through the appropriate legal process," Vidalia Superintendent Sandy Reid wrote in an email. "At this time, we are not able to provide additional comment."

"Had this case not been challenged, governments across Canada would have been encouraged to deny access to public facilities whenever they disagreed with an organization’s beliefs," said constitutional lawyer Olivier Séguin, whose representation of Harvest Ministries International was funded by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms.

The provincial court's ruling "reaffirmed that public officials are bound by the Charter" of Rights and Freedoms "and cannot use state power to silence lawful viewpoints," Séguin said.

"We will carefully analyze the decision before determining the next steps," former tourism Minister Proulx, who remains a member of the National Assembly and is now personally on the hook for about $42,600 U.S., wrote on X. "Since the matter could be subject to additional proceedings, we will not issue any further comments at this time."

She simultaneously issued an impassioned defense of taxpayer-funded abortion rights throughout pregnancy, speaking for the government and the ruling Coalition Avenir Québec. "We will NEVER back down on women's rights to voluntary termination of pregnancies" and "the services to which they are entitled."

'More aptly described as failures of the district,' not ministry

The transcript from Thursday's Vidalia hearing, posted to the court record Monday, suggests that President Trump-nominated Judge Baker saw the case as a slam dunk for Youmans and his ministry, which like LifeWise transports students for off-site religious instruction with parental approval. They receive elective course credit.

The plaintiffs showed "a substantial likelihood of success on the merits" of their claim that the district violated their "right to speak on a matter of public concern," Baker said, even if he evaluates the case under the Supreme Court precedent Pickering – also at issue in a compelled-speech case seeking review – and its "higher burden" on plaintiffs.

Their interest in "criticizing the public school board" outweighs the district's interest in "promoting the efficiency of the school system" under Pickering, Baker said, noting the absence of "compelling evidence" of how kicking out Sweet Onion made the district more efficient or how Youmans' Facebook posts "hindered" that efficiency.

The judge listed "nonexhaustive examples" of "uncontroverted evidence" that Youmans' speech played "a substantial part" in Vidalia ending the agreement, including Baker's impression of Superintendent Reid's testimony at the hearing.

Reid said "some board members were bothered" by Youmans' posts and asked her to "look into" Youmans and his ministry, and board minutes show that members were thinking of Youmans' criticism when they asked about "possible options for the course," Baker said.

Reid denied "at portions" of her Feb. 6 conversation with Youmans about ending the Sweet Onion relationship that she was motivated by his "public speech and criticism," but her stated concerns about his "professionalism" and the impetus for kicking out his ministry were rooted in his Facebook posts, Baker told the parties.

The superintendent couldn't resist arguing with Youmans' points and explaining "why the tax increase was needed" when their conversation ended, the judge said. Even if the board made the call and not Reid, an individual defendant, it was told "very little" about Sweet Onion other than its course content and Youmans' Facebook posts.

In a later affidavit, Reid for the first time laid out supposedly "genuine concerns for the safety of students" as reasons for ending the Sweet Onion relationship – proof of liability insurance, background checks and parental permission – but Baker called them "pretextual." No one brought them up with Youmans in the parties' 10-year relationship, and "certainly not" after termination or even in Reid's meeting with Youmans.

The "proffered" reasons by Reid "could be more aptly described as failures of the district," according to Baker, crediting Youmans' testimony as "very credible, that he could have met all of these conditions and requirements easily if someone had just picked up the phone and asked him about them."