This is yet another example of the Nanny State overkill

View this email in your browser ([link removed])
[link removed]



** For Immediate Release: October 15, 2020
------------------------------------------------------------


** School District to Georgia Mom: Wear Mask or Be Barred From Son’s Football Game (Again)
------------------------------------------------------------

ATLANTA, Ga. — The Rutherford Institute has again come to the aid of a Georgia parent who has been barred from attending her son’s high school football games ([link removed]) unless she compromises her religious beliefs and complies with the school district’s mask requirement for spectators.

Fulton County (Ga.) Schools (FCS) lawyers rejected a request by Rutherford Institute attorneys that Tara Barnett be exempt from the mandate ([link removed]) in accordance with explicit provisions in Georgia Governor Brian Kemp’s executive orders requiring religious accommodations. While FCS cited Georgia State High School Association (HSA) guidelines for its refusal, Rutherford Institute attorneys argue that the school’s reasoning is legally flawed ([link removed]) given that the HSA guidelines, which only recommend spectators wear face coverings, cannot take precedence over the governor’s orders mandating religious exemptions.

“No parent should be forced to choose between abiding by their religious beliefs or exercising their parental rights, especially not when the government has no compelling interest for doing so and when reasonable accommodations can be made,” said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of Battlefield America: The War on the American People ([link removed]) . “If the governor is willing to accommodate religious beliefs and provide mask exemptions to those who social distance, school officials must do no less.”
MAKE THE GOVERNMENT PLAY BY THE RULES OF THE CONSTITUTION: SUPPORT THE FIGHT FOR FREEDOM ([link removed])

Since March 2020, Georgia’s Governor has issued a series of Executive Orders responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. In three Orders issued in August and September, Gov. Kemp authorized government entities to impose “Local Option Face Covering Requirement[s]” mandating that persons “wear face masks or face coverings when not able to maintain Social Distancing from non-cohabitating persons[.]” Each of the three Orders provides that a local mask requirement “shall not be applied to . . ., those who have a bona fide religious objection to wearing a face mask or face covering[.]” Tara Barnett, whose son is a member of the junior varsity football team at Milton High School, received an email from the school announcing that all spectators at FCS athletic event will be required to wear a face covering and that spectators will be required to social distance at the event venue, i.e., only sit in designated areas and sit six feet apart unless sitting with family. Upon learning of the mask/face covering
requirement, Mrs. Barnett contacted the school’s athletic director and requested an accommodation ([link removed]) from the mask requirement because of her sincere religious beliefs in opposition to the use of masks or face coverings. The FCS athletic director denied Mrs. Barnett’s request to be exempt from the face covering mandate.

In its letter to FCS ([link removed]) on behalf of Mrs. Barnett, The Rutherford Institute asserts that the denial of her request for an accommodation so she can attend her son’s football games clearly contradicts Gov. Kemp’s Orders requiring local face covering rules allow for exemptions based on religious beliefs. FCS, through legal counsel, refused to allow Mrs. Barnett an exemption relying on face covering recommendations of the Georgia High School Association. FCS also claimed it is not a “government entity” subject to the Governor’s religious exemption requirement, but Rutherford Institute attorneys pointed to several statutes defining school districts and boards of education as government entities.

The Rutherford Institute’s first ([link removed]) and second ([link removed]) round of letters to the Fulton County Schools Superintendent are available at www.rutherford.org.

The Rutherford Institute ([link removed]) , a nonprofit civil liberties organization, defends individuals whose constitutional rights have been violated and educates the public about threats to their freedoms.

Source: [link removed]
[link removed] Share ([link removed])
[link removed] https%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Frutherford%2Fschool-district-to-georgia-mom-wear-mask-or-be-barred-from-sons-football-game-again Tweet ([link removed] https%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Frutherford%2Fschool-district-to-georgia-mom-wear-mask-or-be-barred-from-sons-football-game-again)
[link removed] Forward ([link removed])
CLICK HERE TO MAKE A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION ([link removed])

To donate via PayPal, please click below:
[link removed]

============================================================
** Follow us on Facebook ([link removed])
** Follow us on Facebook ([link removed])
** Follow us on Twitter ([link removed])
** Follow us on Twitter ([link removed])
** YouTube ([link removed])
** YouTube ([link removed])
CONTACT INFORMATION
Nisha Whitehead
(434) 978-3888 ext. 604
** [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

THE RUTHERFORD INSTITUTE
Post Office Box 7482
Charlottesville, VA 22906-7482
Phone: (434) 978-3888
** www.rutherford.org ([link removed])

Copyright © 2020 The Rutherford Institute, All rights reserved.

You are receiving this email because of your interest in the work of The Rutherford Institute. Founded in 1982 by constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead, The Rutherford Institute is a civil liberties organization that provides free legal services to people whose constitutional and human rights have been threatened or violated. To discontinue your membership electronically, or if you feel you are receiving this message in error, please follow the link below.

Under the regulations of the United States Internal Revenue Service, The Rutherford Institute is incorporated as a 501(c)(3) tax exempt nonprofit organization. Donations to support The Rutherford Institute’s legal and educational work help to safeguard the constitutional rights of all Americans. Donations are tax-deductible. In compliance with general industry standards of a nonprofit organization, the Institute is audited annually by an independent accounting firm.

** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])

** update subscription preferences ([link removed])