Group sues public library for canceling gathering

Group sues public library for canceling gathering

The meeting was canceled because it contained religious elements, an official said.

COLUMBUS (AP) — A federal lawsuit accuses a suburban library of violating the rights of a conservative group whose members were told they could not use a community meeting room for singing and praying.

Citizens for Community Values, a Cincinnati-based group that spearheaded the 2004 amendment that bans gay marriages in Ohio, says in the lawsuit filed Friday that the Upper Arlington Public Library was wrong to cancel a meeting planned for Feb. 27.

Library Director Ann Moore told the group it could not hold the meeting if it included religious elements, according to the lawsuit.

“Christian groups shouldn’t be discriminated against for their beliefs,” said Tim Chandler, an attorney with Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian legal group that joined the lawsuit.

“The government cannot treat people with nonreligious viewpoints more favorably than people with religious viewpoints,” Chandler said. “Christians have the same First Amendment rights as anyone else in America.”

The canceled library meeting was part of a “Politics and the Pulpit” discussion planned by Citizens for Community Values. It was to include a discussion of politics and religion, as well as a “prayer petitioning God for guidance in the church’s proper role in the political process” and “singing praise and giving thanks to God,” according to the lawsuit.

Library officials said praying and singing are elements of a religious service, which is not allowed under library policy.

“The library does not refuse the use of meeting rooms for discussions,” spokeswoman Ruth McNeil said. “You can discuss faith, family values or war. This is a place for public discussion. The opportunity to meet here was — and still is — open to them.”

Library officials said they hope to settle the complaint out of court.

“We don’t believe the purpose for which the lawsuit was filed is even merited. We never want to go to the degree of attorneys and lawsuits,” McNeil said. “That’s not a good use of public dollars.”