NEW ORLEANS — The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed suit in federal court in New Orleans Aug. 13 to stop Louisiana from making taxpayer-financed donations to two churches.
The gifts targeted in the case — $100,000 to Stonewall Baptist Church in Bossier City and $20,000 to Shreveport Christian Church — are among more than 10 appropriations that individual state lawmakers requested for churches in the new state budget signed into law last month by Gov. Kathleen Blanco.
Charging that earmarking church-related grants in the state budget is unconstitutional and that the purposes of the grants are only vaguely described, the ACLU in late June asked Blanco to veto them all, warning the dispute could end up in court otherwise. According to the ACLU, the state in certain circumstances can give money to religious organizations for some programs that provide nonreligious social services but the First Amendment bars the government from making direct, unrestricted cash payments to churches.
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