The Freedom From Religion Foundation has filed a motion to dismiss an Oklahoma State Department of Education lawsuit against it. FFRF is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Oklahoma.
FFRF sent letters to public schools in Oklahoma objecting to religious activities, prompting State Superintendent Ryan Walters and the Oklahoma State Department of Education to file a “SLAPP” suit seeking to punish its constitutionally protected speech. The state’s Department of Education has failed to identify any actual violation of law. This “Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation” (SLAPP) seeks to chill the free speech and petition rights of FFRF. SLAPP suits are used to weaponize the legal system to punish and silence constitutionally protected speech.
“We are proud of the work we are doing to protect the rights of conscience of public school children in Oklahoma,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “This frivolous lawsuit by Ryan Walters seeks to silence FFRF, and we are not going to allow that to happen.”
The ACLU is defending FFRF in the case.
“Advocacy organizations have the right to criticize government policy and push for change,” says Megan Lambert, legal director of the ACLU of Oklahoma. “This lawsuit is just another in a long line of political stunts by the Oklahoma State Department of Education as it seeks to silence and punish dissent. We will vigorously defend FFRF’s First Amendment rights against the Department’s abuse of the legal process.”
“Our client has not violated any law by speaking out against religious activities in Oklahoma public schools,” says Vera Eidelman, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “This lawsuit has one goal: to chill our client’s ability to petition the government. This is an abusive legal tactic intended to punish people and organizations for speaking out and fighting back against government policies.”
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. The motion can be seen here.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national educational nonprofit that protects the constitutional separation between state and church and educates about nontheism.
The ACLU of Oklahoma works to secure liberty, justice, and equity for all Oklahomans through advocacy, litigation, and legislation, leading by example and fueled by people power.
For more than 100 years, the ACLU has worked in courts, legislatures, and communities to protect the constitutional rights of all people. With a nationwide network of offices and millions of members and supporters, the ACLU takes on the toughest civil liberties fights in pursuit of liberty and justice for all.
