On April 11, 2014 John Peach is quoted as saying this about CAIR intimidating Farragut High School in Knoxville, TN to prevent a scheduled and agreed upon event put on by the Knoxville Chapter of ACT! for America (excerpted from a SlantRight 2.0 post):
"Why is it that Muslims engage in teaching about how good Islam is for Tennessee at the Cedar Bluff Library - a public building, but they feel "uncomfortable" when ACT! For America plans an event to show the opposite viewpoint at a public building? (This is documented as follows):
…
"Last December, ACT! For America - Knoxville Chapter was granted permission by Knox County Schools to use the facilities of Farragut High School to hold an educational forum including two speakers, followed by an opportunity for the public to answer any questions of the two. This we called the Town Hall – Farragut.
"We in good faith and urgent vitality have been promoting this event for the past four months, believing we were following all the guidelines given to us. We have spent over $1500.00 to advance this cause, including taking out a special insurance policy just to cover this occasion.
"The purpose of the meeting was to educate our local citizens about the dangers of Sharia Law, especially as it negatively affects our children, our churches, our law enforcement personnel, and our community leaders. Now, due to the fear of Muslims in the Knoxville area, the venue for the event that was open to everyone was cancelled. …
In a victorious update from an ACT! for America email alert we find out the local Knoxville Chapter won a lawsuit claiming the school district unjustly cancelled the event.
JRH 10/3/14
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ACT for America Defeats CAIR and Government Bureaucrats in Court
Sent by ACT for America
Sent: 10/3/2014 8:19 AM
In February an ACT! For America chapter in Knoxville, Tennessee, was wrongfully denied the use of public facilities for a countersharia event due to the improper actions of CAIR and local school district bureaucrats. Our ACT! Chapter pursued litigation aggressively and this week won a settlement in its suit against the school district. Below are the details from Freedom X, the fine legal team who successfully litigated the case.
This should serve as a warning to government officials everywhere not to take legal advice from, or ally with, CAIR, an organization that openly promotes sharia and was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest successful terrorism financing prosecution in US history, the US v the Holy Land Foundation.
This should serve as a warning to government officials everywhere not to take legal advice from, or ally with, CAIR, an organization that openly promotes sharia and was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest successful terrorism financing prosecution in US history, the US v the Holy Land Foundation.
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Posted by Freedom X
October 2, 2014
KNOXVILLE – After canceling a town hall meeting at the request of Muslim activists, a Tennessee school district and two school officials have settled a lawsuit over the public’s right to voice concerns about the growing acceptance of Islamic law, known as Sharia law, spreading through American communities. The settlement was finalized Wednesday evening when the district approved a policy barring school officials from selectively determining which subjects can be discussed by members of the public using school facilities.
In February, the Knoxville chapter of ACT! for America, an organization opposed to Sharia, planned an after-hours town hall meeting at a local area high school. Dr. Bill French, an expert on Islam, and Matt Bonner of Crescent Project, a Christian ministry reaching out to Muslims with the Gospel, were scheduled to speak at the event.
John Peach, president of the Knoxville chapter of ACT! for America, and French sued the school district in U.S. District Court on August 4, 2014, for violating their First Amendment right of free speech and their Fourteenth Amendment rights of equal protection and due process. The county agreed to settle the lawsuit [Peach vs. Knox County Schools] just 21 days after it was filed. In addition to revising its facility use policy, the county will pay attorneys fees and costs.
The new facility use policy states in part that “[a]pproval for use of school buildings and property will not be withheld based upon the content of the message or viewpoint of the applicant.”
“This is a victory for free speech,” said Bill Becker, president of Freedom X, a non-profit legal organization fighting discrimination against conservatives and Christians. “Sharia is incompatible with our constitutional and legal protections. That was the message Knox County school officials tried to censor. It is unfortunate we have to educate the educators about our freedoms, but we are thankful that Knox county attorneys recognized litigation would have been futile for the district.”
Knox County Schools superintendent James P. McIntyre, Jr., agreed to cancellation of ACT’s event after receiving letters from Ibrahim Hooper, communications director for the Council for American-Islamic Relations (“CAIR”) and AbdulRaman Murphy, a Muslim youth chaplain at the University of Tennessee. The activists falsely labeled ACT! a “hate group” and falsely characterized French as a bigot. They speculated the town hall meeting would encourage violence at the school and would disrupt the school environment.
After receiving the letters, Farragut High School’s principal at the time, Michael F. Reynolds, contacted McIntyre fearing that allowing the town hall meeting to take place would convert the school into “a public forum for harassment and bullying practices that contradict the open-minded, academic discussion we seek to teach and foster.”
In 1969, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Tinker v. Des Moines Sch. Dist. that “in our system, undifferentiated fear or apprehension of disturbance is not enough to overcome the right to freedom of expression. Any departure from absolute regimentation may cause trouble. Any variation from the majority’s opinion may inspire fear. Any word spoken, in class, in the lunchroom, or on the campus, that deviates from the views of another person may start an argument or cause a disturbance. But our Constitution says we must take this risk and our history says that it is this sort of hazardous freedom — this kind of openness — that is the basis of our national strength and of the independence and vigor of Americans who grow up and live in this relatively permissive, often disputatious, society.”
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Freedom X is a non-profit legal organization protecting conservative and religious freedom of expression.
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ACT for America Defeats CAIR and Government Bureaucrats in Court
ACT for America is a 501(c)(4) issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure. Donations to ACT for America are not tax deductible.
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Freedom X lawsuit forces Tennessee school district to allow politically incorrect after-school speech critical of Sharia
© Copyright 2014 Freedom X
Freedom X ‘Who We Are’ Page:
William J. Becker, Jr.
President / CEO / General Counsel
President / CEO / General Counsel
Bill Becker is an unapologetic “warrior for Christ.” Always a Christian but not always a warrior, Bill saw the culture shifting from its moral base–the Judeo-Christian foundation of our nation’s laws–with little resistance from right-thinking moral Americans. In the ’70s and ’80s, Bill was a journalist anchoring and reporting for a Las Vegas NBC-TV affiliate, a news reporter for the Las Vegas Sun, and a correspondent for Variety and Gaming Business Magazine.
Bill earned a law degree from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1986. After two decades as a litigator, Bill experienced an awakening in his life and was “born again” (John: 3). Asked by his church pastor to conduct a Bible study class explaining why the County of Los Angeles redesigned its government seal to remove a tiny image of a cross, Bill took the initiative to sue the county instead. Since that time, he has been a vigilant defender of liberty for conservatives, Christians, and others who support America’s foundational principles. In 2013, he started Freedom X.
Bill is admitted to practice before numerous federal district and appellate courts, the United States Supreme Court and all courts in California and Colorado, and appears pro hac vice throughout the country to defend our First Amendment freedoms.
Bill lives in West Los Angeles with his wife Gigi and black Labrador Retriever (sic), Jessie.
Georgeann (Gigi) Becker
Chief Financial Officer
Chief Financial Officer
Gigi Becker is … READ THE REST
