Whenever the Republican Right rails against organizations like the ACLU for being "atheist" or "anti-Christian," they always conveniently forget to mention cases like this one. Kids, of their own volition and on their own non-classroom time, want to distribute Christian literature at school. They have every right to do so, but the school district is stopping them, so the Iowa Civil Liberties Union is helping the kids in their lawsuit.

It's simple, folks: kids in schools have a right to pray, read a Bible, read the Q'oran, eat kosher foods, or observe any other religious beliefs they want, so long as they're not disruptive. Adults in schools do not have those rights -- they're employees of the state, not students who are required to be there. Nor can school assemblies or graduation ceremonies include student-led prayer, because all students must be there, and that removes the voluntary element.

Kids can privately observe any religion in schools. They just can't be disruptive or do it when other kids are forced to listen. If the school allows handing out chess club or dance flyers, it has to allow religious flyers -- and when it doesn't, the ACLU is there to defend the kids. The ACLU protects kids when adults want to force them to accept free Bibles, and it protects adults who want to hand out free Bibles near a school after school hours when an overzealous district wants those people gone.

The Republican Right doesn't like the ACLU because the ACLU refuses the right's coercive plans to force kids to pray in school or single themselves out as non-believers and targets for conversion. They don't like the ACLU because the ACLU defends all religious rights, including those of Muslims, Wiccans, and even atheists. But defend religious rights they do -- something the "religious right" is appalled to see.