Miami school board decides not to evict church

MIAMI — A Southern Baptist pastor claimed victory Aug. 3 after Miami-Dade County School Superintendent Alberto Carvalho decided not to evict his two-year-old church from meeting in a high school for preaching that homosexuality is a sin.

The district launched an investigation into whether Impact Miami Church and Pastor Jack Hakimian violated the district’s bullying and nondiscrimination policies by preaching sermons that gays can and should change and comparing pedophilia to attempts to “desensitize” and “normalize” homosexual behavior in the media.

After the Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit law firm affiliated with Liberty University, threatened to sue on First Amendment grounds, the superintendent said there would be no action to terminate the church’s lease contract as long as it continues to pay its rent and keep its insurance coverage current.

“The school district acknowledges the constitutional right of all persons to express themselves freely,” Carvalho said in a memo to members of the school board. “Our firm belief is that, under the law, constitutionally protected freedom of speech for all, including those who lease our facilities, must be observed even when it may be perceived as offensive to some.”