By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Writer A Federal District Judge has ruled in favor of a public school teacher who sued after being ordered to remove banners from his classroom because they contained the words “in God we Trust” and “God Bless America.” Brad Johnson, a San Diego high school math teacher had been displaying large red, white and blue banners containing patriotic phrases in his classroom for 25 years. However, last year school officials ordered the banners removed because they promoted a “Judeo-Christian” viewpoint.   According to the Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm that represented Johnson, the same school district allows classroom displays that include posters of Buddhist and Islamic messages as well as Tibetan prayer flags.   On Friday, Sept. 5, Federal District Judge Robert T. Benitez ruled that Johnson had a free speech right to display the banners.   “Whether described as speech from a religious perspective or speech about American history and culture, through display of his classroom banners, Johnson was simply exercising his free speech rights on subjects that were otherwise permitted in the limited public forum created by Defendants and in a manner that did not cause substantial disorder in the classroom,” Judge Benitez stated. “Thus, Johnson has made out a clear claim for relief for an ongoing violation of his First Amendment free speech rights.” Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel for the Law Center, commented, “Many public schools exhibit a knee-jerk hostility towards Christianity and seek to cleanse our Nation’s classrooms of our religious heritage while promoting atheism or other religions under the guise of cultural diversity.” Robert Muise, the Thomas More Law Center lawyer handling the case, added, “Judge Benitez’s strongly worded opinion sends a clear message to school districts across the country that hostility toward our nation’s religious heritage is contrary to our constitution.” In its lawsuit, the Law Center alleged that the school district’s action amounted to government hostility toward a specific religion and violated Johnson’s Free Speech rights by imposing a viewpoint-based restriction on his speech that was not reasonably related to any legitimate pedagogical concern in violation of the United States and California Constitutions.   The school district responded to the lawsuit by filing a motion to dismiss the case for failure to state a claim. Judge Benitez’s ruling rejected the school district’s view of the law and now allows the case to proceed.  The lawsuit ultimately seeks to have the speech restriction overturned so that Johnson can continue to display his banners, as he has done for 25 years.   © All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly/Women of Grace. http://www.womenofgrace.com