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==ACLU, Evolution, and the Establishment Clause==

==ACLU, Evolution, and the Establishment Clause==

The ACLU filed a lawsuit, ''Selman v. Cobb County Sch. Dist.'', against a school district in Cobb County Georgia, for putting stickers in biology textbooks that said, "This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered."<ref>Ariel Hart, "Stickers Put in Evolution Text Are the Subject of a Federal Trial," New York Times, November 9, 2004</ref> The ACLU lawsuit was ostensibly in behalf of indignant parents, but any monetary award would be paid to the ACLU. The trial judge ruled in favor of the ACLU,<ref>http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/01/13/evolution.textbooks.ruling/</ref> but his ruling was vacated on appeal.<ref>http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/ops/200510341.pdf</ref> The case was eventually settled, with the stickers being removed, and the school district agreeing that it would never again make "any disclaimers regarding evolution orally, in writing, or by any other means".<ref>Cobb County School District press release, consent judgment, and order.[http://www.cobb.k12.ga.us/news/2006/20061219_StickerAgreement.pdf]</ref> An ACLU press release suggested that its motives were to "ensure that their children receive proper science education" and to stop any message that evolutionists are political outsiders.<ref>http://www.aclu.org/religion/intelligentdesign/27745prs20061219.html</ref> But the ACLU did not mention that it also demanded huge attorney fees and collected $166,659 for its lawyers from the school district.<ref>http://www.georgiascience.org/2006/12/21/board-right-to-finally-pull-plug-on-sticker-case/</ref>

The ACLU filed a lawsuit, ''[[Selman v. Cobb County School District]]'', against a school district in Cobb County, Georgia, for putting stickers in biology textbooks that said, "This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered."<ref>Ariel Hart, "Stickers Put in Evolution Text Are the Subject of a Federal Trial," New York Times, November 9, 2004</ref> The ACLU lawsuit was ostensibly in behalf of indignant parents, but any monetary award would be paid to the ACLU. The trial judge ruled in favor of the ACLU,<ref>http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/01/13/evolution.textbooks.ruling/</ref> but his ruling was vacated on appeal.<ref>http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/ops/200510341.pdf</ref> The case was eventually settled, with the stickers being removed, and the school district agreeing that it would never again make "any disclaimers regarding evolution orally, in writing, or by any other means".<ref>Cobb County School District press release, consent judgment, and order.[http://www.cobb.k12.ga.us/news/2006/20061219_StickerAgreement.pdf]</ref> An ACLU press release suggested that its motives were to "ensure that their children receive proper science education" and to stop any message that evolutionists are political outsiders.<ref>http://www.aclu.org/religion/intelligentdesign/27745prs20061219.html</ref> But the ACLU did not mention that it also demanded huge attorney fees and collected $166,659 for its lawyers from the school district.<ref>http://www.georgiascience.org/2006/12/21/board-right-to-finally-pull-plug-on-sticker-case/</ref>

Another example of ACLU litigation was ''Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School Dist.''<ref>400 F.Supp.2d 707 (M.D. Pa. 2005) [http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/dover/kitzmiller_v_dover_decision.html]</ref>, also known as the [[Intelligent design]] case. The ACLU prevailed in prohibiting administrators from reading a short statement that mentions [[Intelligent Design]] to students, and forbade the school board from issuing a warning that Darwin's theory has gaps.<ref>''Kitzmiller v. Dover Area Sch. Dist.,'' 400 F.Supp.2d 707.</ref> In his opinion, Judge [[John E. Jones III]] heavily relied on the later-vacated ruling in ''Selman v. Cobb County Sch. Dist.'', and on ACLU briefs.<ref>90% of the section on intelligent design was from the ACLU's briefs.[http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/index.php?command=view&id=3829&program=CSC%20-%20Views%20and%20News]</ref>  He also cited the [[Establishment test]], the [[Lemon test]], and the [[reasonable student standard]].<ref>''Kitzmiller,'' 400 F. Supp. 2d at 725 (coming to the conclusion reached in ''Selman'' by the Court's own reasoning), ''compare'' Selman v. Cobb County Sch. Dist, 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 13005 (11th Cir. May 25, 2006) at *pincite needed*.</ref> The judge also ordered fees paid to the ACLU and its lawyers, totaling $2,067,000.<ref>''See'' 42 U.S.C. s 1988 (describing relief afforded victorious plaintiff of a 1983 action as including attorney fees).</ref>

Another example of ACLU litigation was ''[[Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District]].''<ref>Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District: 

Decision of the Court, 400 F.Supp.2d 707 (M.D. Pa. 2005) [http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/dover/kitzmiller_v_dover_decision.html]</ref>, also known as the [[Intelligent design]] case. The ACLU prevailed in prohibiting administrators from reading a short statement that mentions [[Intelligent Design]] to students, and forbade the school board from issuing a warning that Darwin's theory has gaps.<ref>''Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District,'' 400 F.Supp.2d 707.</ref> In his opinion, Judge [[John E. Jones III]] heavily relied on the later-vacated ruling in ''[[Selman v. Cobb County School District]]'', and on ACLU briefs.<ref>90% of the section on intelligent design was from the ACLU's briefs. A Comparison of Judge Jones’ Opinion in Kitzmiller v. Dover with Plaintiffs’ Proposed “Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law”, by David DeWolf & John West, Discovery Institute, December 12, 2006

[http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/index.php?command=view&id=3829&program=CSC%20-%20Views%20and%20News]</ref>  He also cited the [[Establishment test]], the [[Lemon test]], and the [[reasonable student standard]].<ref>''Kitzmiller,'' 400 F. Supp. 2d at 725 (coming to the conclusion reached in ''Selman'' by the Court's own reasoning), ''compare'' Selman v. Cobb County Sch. Dist, 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 13005 (11th Cir. May 25, 2006) at *pincite needed*.</ref> The judge also ordered fees paid to the ACLU and its lawyers, totaling $2,067,000.<ref>''See'' 42 U.S.C. s 1988 (describing relief afforded victorious plaintiff of a 1983 action as including attorney fees).</ref>

==Same-sex Marriage and Gay Equality==

==Same-sex Marriage and Gay Equality==