Some of you may have read that the Institute For Principled Policy is currently one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Clermont County (OH) Public Library Board (CCPLB). Stories appeared recently on World Net Daily, which gives a good summary of the events surrounding the filing of the suit, The Cincinnati Enquirer, which gives a slightly pro-library spin to the story and also several online Christian news outlets.

The Institute along with George Vandergriff and Cathy Vandergriff are suing CCPLB for denying access to public meeting rooms for the purpose of teaching a biblically-based financial management class. Part of the Institute For Principled Policy’ s mission is to promote principled public policy through teaching individuals using biblically-based educational materials and the Bible itself. We are being represented by attorneys from the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF). The Institute and the Vandergriffs assert that the CCPLB is in violation of several sections of the first and fourteenth amendments of the US Constitution and Art. 1 Sec. 7 of the Ohio Constitution which guarantee the rights of freedom of religious practice, assembly, speech, expression and the right to equal protection under the law. Details of the lawsuit are available here and the ADF’s take on the suit here.

You haven’t read much about it on our own pages for a couple of good reasons. The volunteer staff of the Institute has been very busy preparing to teach classes in history, government, economics, etc. at Camp American. The mission of the Institute to educate marches on, even when statist bureaucrats try to stand in the way with illegal and unconstitutional “policies.” Making too much noise at the wrong time on issues like this can often obscure the original objective of the suit, which is to expose an anti-Christian bias on the part of the CCPLB and other library boards. We also believe the old saw that the hen must be the wisest of the animals in the barnyard because she only cackles after the egg is laid. Well the egg is not yet laid, but the hen has settled onto the laying box and conditions are right. As soon as we have an egg, be it fresh or rotten, you’ll know about it.

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