Several representatives of New York City
churches were headed to the state capitol in Albany Monday with a message for
the state assembly.
They want members to approve the bill that
would reverse a school district policy and give churches the same access to
public schools as other groups.
The New York state Senate passed a bill last
week that would trump the city's ban. To take effect, however, the state
assembly must also approve the bill.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver called the
Senate's proposal "seriously flawed," adding that "it would open
up the schools to anybody. It might include the Ku Klux Klan."
In response, Assemblywoman Grace Meng , a
co-sponsor of the legislation, told the New
York Daily News that bills can always be revisited if lawmakers
find the language too broad.
"Not all legislation is perfectly
written," she said. "If there's something in the bill that could be
used as a loophole for groups like the KKK, that's something we'd certainly be
open to amending."
Even if the state assembly does pass the
bill, the legislative process could take weeks, and the city has not budged its
Feb. 12 deadline.
Sunday was the last day the New York City
congregations could hold worship services in public schools.
On Tuesday, they'll ask a federal judge to
issue an injunction to allow the churches to continue renting space in the
public schools.
"No matter what
they do," Pastor Dalton Stephens of Highview Baptist Chuch in Queens told
the newspaper, "the church will prevail." Make sure to 'like' us on Facebook, and become a 'Follower' here, or sign up for email notifications on the bottom right of this page. As always, thanks for stopping by, and may God bless you! -Walking In The Way
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