Pro-life students accosted and kicked out of Smithsonian

It is a shame that discrimination within federal entities still occurs, yet it does. Twelve Catholic school students learned the hard way that being Catholic and being pro-life will cause retaliation by those opposed to both. At least two of the students, however, say this fight is not over yet.

The students and their chaperones were from Our Lady of the Rosary School in Greenville, South Carolina and were in Washington D.C. on January 20 to attend the annual March for Life. Following the March for Life, the group chose to do some sight seeing and educational activities. They went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, which is famous for several of its exhibits which include the original 1903 Wright Flyer, Star Trek Starship Enterprise Studio Model, as well as the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.

According to Catholic News Agency, the American Center for Law and Justice is representing two of the students who were kicked out of the Smithsonian. Attorney Jordan Sekulow said it is more than just the disagreement over the hat they were wearing. He said they were discriminated against, bullied, mocked, and harassed. According to CNA, he said staff members at the museum “mocked the students, called them expletives, and made comments that the museum was a ‘neutral zone’ where they could not express such statements.”

According to the ACLJ, the students were required to wear the hats so they could be identified easily and they were able to stay together while visiting the museum. The ACLJ said what happened to the students is unacceptable and angers them. "They were just there at the time to enjoy the museum's exhibits," reads the ACLJ website. But that appearently didn't stop these abusive federal employees from hurling insults and profanities at these young people before throwing them out of a federal institution. Not only is this infuriating, without question, but it's also a direct violation of their constitutionally protected rights." The center says it is a violation of the First Amendment on grounds of both a violation of the freedom of speech as well as the freedom of religion. 

The museum, in fact, is a federal entity and is barred from any form of discrimination. Their website lists prohibited items such as guns, knives, selfie sticks, scissors, food and drinks, and smoking. It does say that placards, signs, and banners are prohibited. However, it says nothing about prohibited apparel and a cap certainly is not a banner or a placard or sign. According to Sekulow, other visitors had various hats and caps on but were not asked to remove theirs.

According to CNA, the Smithsonian acknowledged the incident and claimed to have implemented additional policies to prevent further problems. They said they have provided training to their employees and are creating additional steps to not allow something like this to happen again. It is interesting to note, however, their statement did not issue an apology to the students, their chaperones, or the school for what happened. It only said that the actions were not part of their policies or protocols and they were working to prevent further incidents. It did not even say the employees responsible were being disciplined or that it was even being investigated. The likelihood of anyone receiving any kind of discipline for accosting a pro-life individual, even a student, is slim to none in Washington D.C.

It should come as no surprise, however, that the school’s own diocese did not take a strong stand for the students and school. In fact, it is typical and class Catholic hierarchy that tread the political line in place of taking a stand.  Their statement, according to CNA, that was released to KYFF4 News, said, “thousands of Catholic students attend the March for Life every year and we support their right to stand for life.” The statement does not issue a message directly to the students or their chaperones to encourage them to continue standing for life, for the Catholic values and teachings, or even to show their support. It lumps them all in with all other Catholic students who attended the March, but not everyone experienced the harassment these students in their own diocese experienced. Two days later, however, the diocese appeared to post a cryptic kind of message on its Facebook page about abortion and pro-life which reads is a quote from St. John Paul II regarding praying for life and the need for every Christian to pray for life on the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children. Fascinating that the diocese can post about praying for the unborn on the Day of Prayer for the Unborn yet ignore the need to provide support, even in the simple acknowledgment of a statement of support, for those who are harassed because of their faith and faced discrimination.

Does it surprise you? It certainly does not surprise me.

The attorney for two of the children says the fight is not over. They are looking into pursuing legal action against the museum and its employees. The ACLJ says, on its website, "the ACLJ has entered this fight, and I assure you these employees will be held accountable for going after pro-life kids."