Three students who sued the University of Idaho for discrimination, alleging that their free speech rights were violated due to their traditional views on marriage, were vindicated in a court hearing.
On June 30, Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye sided with the students’ First Amendment claim, granting a preliminary injunction that upheld the First Amendment rights of Peter Perlot, Mark Miller, and Ryan Alexander, members of the Christian Legal Society (CLS), Campus Reform reported.
The students were defended in their lawsuit by First Amendment organization Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).
“University officials issued no-contact orders against Perlot, Miller, Alexander, and the CLS chapter’s faculty adviser, Professor Richard Seamon, after a student had asked the chapter why it requires its officers to affirm the belief that marriage is between a man and a woman,” ADF said in a statement.
“When university officials issued the no-contact orders… they did not inform the CLS members that anyone had complained about them, and they did not give the students an opportunity to review the allegations against them or defend themselves.”
ADF’s legal counsel, Mathew Hoffmann, argued that students are “guaranteed the freedom under the First Amendment to discuss their faith on campus, just like every other student and faculty member.”
In his ruling, Nye described the case as “a sad irony in the fact that the restraint on plaintiffs’ speech began at an event meant to reiterate acceptance and tolerance and to dissuade bullying and marginalization.”
“Some may disagree with plaintiffs’ religious beliefs. Such is each person’s prerogative and right. But none should disagree that plaintiffs have a right to express their religious beliefs without fear of retribution. The Constitution makes that clear,” Nye wrote.
The preliminary injunction stated that the “Constitution is a shield to protect one’s fundamental inalienable rights. It is not a sword to hew down the fundamental inalienable rights of others.”