The 3 - March 21, 2021

This week's edition of The 3 includes the latest development in the case of a Washington football coach who had prayed on the 50-yard line after games, which resulted in his termination - he is due to make a trip back to the U.S. Supreme Court.  Also, a Canadian pastor has been in jail for over a month due to his refusal to abide by COVID regulations in his province, but there has been speculation that he could be going home, at least until his trial in May.  And, a former homosexual who had his testimonial and teaching videos removed from a popular video platform received a negative court ruling recently.

Canadian pastor awaits release from jail until trial

A Canadian pastor, James Coates of Edmonton's GraceLife Church, has been in jail for over a month because of his resistance to COVID-19 guidelines for his congregation.  There was a glimmer of hope earlier this week that the pastor might be exiting jail until his trial begins in May, but so far, he continues to be incarcerated.

CTV Edmonton reported that a hearing for Coates had been scheduled for Monday morning. The report says:

On Wednesday, his lawyer John Carpay said all but one charge had been dropped and that Coates could be released as soon as Friday.

"We are hopeful that he will finally be released from jail without conditions, and can resume pastoring GraceLife church," Carpay said.

The church has defied a closure order and has been cited for violating COVID-19 restrictions in connection to occupancy, physical distancing and masks.

Now, CTV Edmonton is reporting that indeed he will be released and will pay a $1500 fine.  The story states:

Coates was charged with two violations of the Public Health Act and failure to comply with release conditions.

He pleaded guilty to the latter charge on Monday and will be released when he pays the fine.

In a joint submission, the crown and defence asked for a $100 fine but the judge increased it to $1,500.

Football coach loses appeal, on to SCOTUS

The case involving former Bremerton, Washington football coach Joe Kennedy has already been to the U.S. Supreme Court once - and it is heading back again. He is represented by First Liberty, and on that organization's website, it reported that a Federal appeals court, the 9th Circuit had for the second time refused to rule in favor of the coach's right to walk to the 50-yard line after games and pray, an action that cost him his position with the team.  First Liberty's website states:

In January 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States declined to review the case at that time and instead allowed Coach Kennedy’s case to continue through the court system. But in a separate statement written by Justice Alito and joined by Justices Thomas, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh, the justices explained that the Court needed more information in order to resolve the matter. As Justice Alito wrote, “the Ninth Circuit’s understanding of the free speech rights of public school teachers is troubling and may justify review in the future.” The case then returned to the district court for further review where, in January 2020, U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Leighton granted the Bremerton (WA) School District’s motion for summary judgment. Kennedy’s attorneys then appealed to the Ninth Circuit, which heard oral argument in January.

Now that the case has returned to the high court, there is the question of whether or not the justices will find that there is enough evidence now in order to issue a ruling in the case - certainly there was a glimmer of hope given to the coach and his legal team on the first trip.

Former homosexual banned from legal action against video platform, highlights need for Big Tech reform

James Domen has experienced victory over homosexuality through Jesus Christ, and he wants to tell the world.  However, his ministry found that videos that share that story and a Biblical viewpoint of sexuality were removed by the platform, Vimeo.  According to an article on The Christian Post website, a Federal appeals court, the 2nd Circuit, issued in favor of the platform, not the pastor. 

The article states that the court...

...ruled last week that Pastor James Domen and his Church United cannot sue Vimeo due to the company’s immunity under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which Big Tech companies often use to evade liability for content on their websites.

It goes on to say:

The Second Circuit agreed with U.S. Magistrate Judge Stewart Aaron’s January 2020 decision that Vimeo deleted the church’s account because it violated the platform’s content policies barring the promotion of “SOCE,” which is often derisively called “conversion therapy.”

This certainly indicates a need for revision of these Section 230 guidelines - while many do not want overbearing government regulation of technological platforms, these platforms have been accused of being imbalanced regarding the ideological bent of content that is being censored.