by Tim Murphy
09-05-08
(Religion News Service) Florida's Supreme Court on Wednesday tossed out two statewide ballot initiatives aimed at ending a longstanding ban on public funding for religious institutions, drawing praise from church-state watchdogs.
Civil liberties groups had filed suit to remove the amendments headed for the November ballot, which sought to rewrite the state constitution to allow church groups to participate in government programs, and pave the way for school voucher programs.
A lower court had upheld the initiatives in an Aug. 4 decision.
Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and the Anti-Defamation League, which supported the plaintiff in the case, hailed the ruling.
"Religious liberty and public education are two cornerstones of the American way of life, and these amendments would have badly damaged both of them," said Americans United's vice president, Rabbi Merrill Shapiro, in a statement.
"We're glad the Florida Supreme Court did its duty and put a stop to it."
If passed, the initiatives would have opened state funding to religious organizations. They also provided a means by which state money could be used for vouchers at private schools -- including religious institutions. Florida law currently prohibits taxpayer-funded vouchers for private school tuition.
Supporters of the initiatives contend that the current constitutional restrictions were originally enacted by Protestants to discriminate against Catholic groups. The Florida Catholic Conference and Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami were among the religious organizations that intervened in the suit.
Gary McCaleb, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, which provided financial assistance for the case, called the state's current policy "obnoxious."
"Floridians should have had the right to vote on the matter, and obviously it's very sad when advocacy groups step in and silence citizens from voting," McCaleb said.
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