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07/28/2007 Entry: "Drumming, Christianity, and the Current State of the Union"

I just ran into this story on a drum message board I frequent. Why I missed it, I'm not sure. Back in January, one of my fellow posters/drummers/Christians was handing out Bibles with the Giddeons. You know the Giddeons, the ones who put Bibles in hotels? Well, they were on a public sidewalk in front of a school. They went to the principal, and asked him where they should stand. He told them, and that's where they went. So from this public sidewalk, outside the school, they were handing out Bibles and talking to students and pedestrians. Apprarently, the principal changed his mind about the whole idea, and called the cops. The police came, and asked the Giddeons to move. Though they have the legal right to stand on the sidewalk--a public way--the Giddeons are trained to submit to law officials. So they were moving, but apparently not fast enough. The cop decided to arrest them. And he did.

He was arrested, and not given the charge, nor read his rights. Later, they charged him with trespassing. That didn't stick, as he was on a public way. Then, they charged him with "loitering within 500 feet of a school." Recently, that charge was dismissed.

Here's the real point of my post. Do you think if this guy were handing out condoms in front of the school, in the same spot, that there would've been a problem? What if he was handing out Quorans? My thought is no one would've said anything about the condoms. Heck, if he was handing out Quorans and got arrested, the media would be all over it, talking about religious bias and the rights of Muslims. Since he was a Christian, though, then he's fair game.

What are we doing when we spend time and money prosecuting Gideons???

If you'd like to read the thread on the drum message board, and make up your own mind, it's here.