Today's Cincinnati Enquirer reports that last Wednesday a federal lawsuit was filed against the Clermont County (Ohio) Public Library by George and Cathy Vandergriff and the Institute for Principled Policy who were denied use of a library meeting room to present two days of Biblically-based financial planning workshops. The library makes its meeting rooms available to non-profit use by community groups, but they may not be used for "political, religious or social events." The complaint (full text) alleges that the library's singling out of religious speech violates the 1st and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution and the religious freedom protections of the Ohio Constitution. Alliance Defense Fund, which represents plaintiffs, issued a press release on the case.
UPDATE: The AP reported on June 13 that in response to the lawsuit, the Clermont library board has decided to exclude all outside groups from its meeting rooms and allow their use only for library programs.
