Trenton, NJ - Today the New Jersey Family Policy Council joined with the NJ Legal Resource Council and the American Center for Law & Justice to call for the Burlington Township School Superintendent, Board of Education President and the Chief of Police to issue a formal letter of apology to the residents of Burlington Township and the citizens of New Jersey who claim to be adherents of a religious faith. “While not targeting a specific denomination, the innuendos obviously were directed to people who claim to be Christians. The terms “right-wing fundamentalists,” “New Crusaders,” and “daughter expelled from school because she was praying before class, leaves little room for misinterpretation,” stated Len Deo, Founder and President of the New Jersey Family Policy Council.

“We are gravely concerned that school officials would use the labels used in identifying the mock gunmen. What does this say to the students who have deeply held religious beliefs – that it is okay to characterize their faith in such a derogatory manner?” Deo added.

“The Courts have been very clear about what constitutes hostility to religion and this was obviously one of those cases. We believe that the tone of this event was probably unintended however; you would think that educators who deal with these issues on a daily basis would know better. We believe that the person behind this strategy should be disciplined and the public informed that disciplinary action is being taken. If such innuendos were in fact intentional then we have a bigger problem. Regardless, a formal letter of apology should be issued,” Deo continued.

“We encourage citizens of Burlington Township to attend the next Board of Education meeting which will be held on April 25, 2007 to voice their opinions as well. Many people are upset and rightly so, they need to express their concerns as to why this issue became a labeling process. In the future we would suggest that the “mock perpetrators” be referred to a “hostile shooters,” “terrorists,” or the like. We commend the school for performing these emergency management exercises because unfortunately these situations have occurred in schools across our nation. Unfortunately, I don’t believe there was one incident caused by a student being expelled from school because of praying before class, nor should there ever be a student expelled for praying before class.  That remains a clear right under our Constitution,” concluded Deo.

The New Jersey Family Policy Council (NJFPC) is an education and research organization dedicated to preserving, protecting, and promoting marriage, family, faith and religious freedom. The New Jersey Legal Resource Council is an advisory arm to the NJFPC and has engaged when necessary in legal action to preserve and protect our constituents’ rights.

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