Atheism news: After this Examiner article brought to attention a possible violation of the separation of church and state, it looks like some change took place. The Grace City Church banner which embellished the fence outside of a Clark County middle school has been removed! As of March 22, 2013, there are no longer any banners on the Schofield Middle School fence -- which is the way it should remain.
Nobody from the church or school system was reached about this, so it's possible that the previous Examiner article got the attention of someone, or perhaps seeing someone taking photos of the banner going up in the first place inspired them to remove it. Whatever the reasons for removing the banner, what matters is that it's gone.
What isn't known is whether or not the Grace City Church still holds meetings at the school, and if so, is this legal? Certainly there are situations in which church meetings are acceptable, but is what this particular church doing legal or acceptable? It's apparent that their banner didn't belong on the school, so what else doesn't belong in the school that they are doing there? Keep in mind that this is a public school, part of the Clark County School District, meaning tax dollars maintain it. It is simply against the law for a single church or religion to be promoted in a facility like this.
It's fortunate that the banner was removed quickly from the middle school and this didn't have to spiral into a lawsuit like with other high profile cases -- though one would probably materialize if it were necessary.
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