ELK RIVER, Minn. — Alliance Defense Fund attorneys have received a positive response to a
letter they sent to the town of Elk River urging it to stop its discriminatory policies restricting the use of its public library and park for religious purposes. The city has rescinded its problematic facility access policies, scrapping a library access policy that flatly banned religious meetings and rewriting a recreation facility policy that charged religious groups extra fees that other non-profits were not required to pay.
“Christian groups shouldn’t be discriminated against for their beliefs. We are pleased that the city now recognizes this,” said ADF Litigation Counsel Daniel Blomberg. “Excluding religious groups from a public library and charging them more than other non-profits to utilize a public park for religious expression is unconstitutional. We appreciate the city’s decision to respect the First Amendment rights of its citizens.”
Elk River had recently inserted discriminatory language to its policies restricting rental access for the religious use of its library community room and Lions Park Center recreation area. The library policy stated, “The meeting room is available; free of charge, for use by community members for non-religious, non-commercial meetings, which are open to the public” and “usage may not be for prayer or other worship purposes.”
The park policy allowed reduced rate rentals for park facilities to all Elk River non-profits, except ones using them for “prayer or other worship purposes,” meaning that those engaging in religious expression would have to pay the full rate charged to commercial and out-of-town groups.
After Elk River resident Brad Bjorkman approached the city council about its discriminatory policy, one member responded that the policy would not be changed and that his only option was to sue the city. Bjorkman then contacted ADF attorneys, who sent a letter in July on his behalf to Mayor Stephanie Klinzing urging the city to change its policy based upon well-established First Amendment case law.
At a
city council meeting Aug. 17, the council members agreed to remove the discriminatory language against the religious uses of Elk River’s library and park rental policies and insert language that would provide equal access for religious organizations, as recommended by ADF.
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
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