Todd Starnes Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is fighting for a third-grade girl’s right to wear a “Jesus Loves Me” face mask to public school.
The youngster was saddened on Oct. 13, when her principal at Simpson Central School pulled her aside and said she could no longer wear her “Jesus Loves Me” mask, which she’d worn several times.
Her mom, Jennifer Booth, was told the mask violated school policy because it had words on it, but Booth noticed it wasn’t in the policy. The superintendent then told her it violated their policy banning masks with political, religious, or inappropriate symbols.
The school allegedly changed its policy to justify the move and refused to accommodate Lydia, according to ADF.
ADF filed a federal lawsuit against the Simpson County School District.
The nationally syndicated radio host said the “shocking” part of the story was that it happened in a rural community in Mississippi.
Longhofer said the cases have increased over the past year, noting officials have used COVID-19 orders “disproportionately” against religious Americans.
“It’s throughout the country and its consistent with an ideology that wants to force people of faith out of the public square and it fails to recognize that the First Amendment protects everyone’s freedoms, not just those that you disagree with.”
The Booth family is standing strong, Langhofer said.
Starnes is calling on his supporters to rally behind Lydia and ADF in this legal battle.
“It’s very simple. We have an opportunity to help Alliance Defending Freedom as they fight for this little third-grader in the state of Mississippi,” Starnes concluded.
“All she wants to do is wear a facemask that says ‘Jesus loves me.’ What’s wrong with that? But she’s having to sue to engage in her constitutional rights, and we’re going to help this family out!”
To help Lydia, you can visit adflegal.org/todd or give them a call at 855-716-7461.
