Due to various news reports and opinion articles on Facebook, the lawsuit over a permit policy at NC State has become a wide topic of discussion. Grace Christian Life, a registered student group at NC State, filed suit over a policy requiring permits for both commercial and non-commercial solicitation on campus. Big news sites like Fox and ABC11 have described the policy to be prejudiced, and there is a petition online attempting to “send a message to the administrators at NC State that we will not stand for discrimination against Christian students.”
As a Christian myself, I think it’s great that people want to share their beliefs with the world. However, the news stories are wildly misleading, and the anger over this policy is just unnecessary. Here’s why.
NC State’s solicitation regulations state the following:
“Groups or individuals wishing to conduct any form of solicitation on University premises must have the written permission of Student Involvement in advance. Permission from the Student Involvement will be granted, subject to reasonable time, place, or manner limits.”
Because Grace Christian Life only wishes to share the story of God without monetary gain, they fall under the non-commercial solicitation category. This, according to NC State’s rules and regulations, includes any distribution of leaflets, brochures, or other written material, or oral speech to a passersby, conducted without intent to obtain commercial or private pecuniary gain. So, in summation, every student group, religious or non-religious, needs a permit to solicit. This permit is easy to acquire, and Student Involvement only restricts solicitation based on time, place, and manner, not religion.
Still think this is discrimination against Christians? Allow me to break down the lawsuit itself:
The lawsuit states that NC State’s solicitation policy is a violation of the Constitution’s protection of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, due process, and equal protection under the law. Here are the formal definitions of these rights:
Freedom of speech: the right to express any opinions without censorship or restraint.
Freedom of religion: the right to practice whatever religion one chooses.
Due Process: fair treatment through the normal judicial system, especially as a citizen's entitlement.
Equal Protection under the law: guarantees the same rights, privileges, and protections to all citizens.
Grace Christian Life does have freedom of speech and freedom of religion on campus; there is no religious-based discriminatory policy that restrains Christians from sharing the story of God. Obtaining the permit is fair and does not infringe upon basic human rights or a citizen’s entitlement, so the policy does not violate due process.
So now we’re left with the violation of equal protection under the law. NC State’s solicitation policy includes groups of all religions as well as sports teams, a cappella groups, and hundreds of other clubs and committees. All citizens share the requirement of a permit before sharing their beliefs, brochures, and baked goods, so Christians absolutely have equal protection under the law.
This leaves Grace Christian Life and their attorneys with nothing to argue. The rules and regulations under NC State’s official policies are in no way discriminatory toward Christians, nor are they unjust or unreasonable. This suit is unnecessary and the information given through biased articles on Facebook is incorrect. NC State’s policy is far more lenient than the “No Soliciting” signs littering streets all over the world, so why are people angry over this? I suppose that's a whole other issue.
