California Public Library Bans Praying in Meeting Rooms

Rev. Hattie Hopkins of Faith Center Church Evangelistic Ministries reserved a public meeting room at the Contra Costa County public library to hold a religious service. After the first meeting, the library banned the group from using the library facilities because of the religious content of the meeting. The library continued to allow other meetings with "religious" content, such as Narcotics Anonymous, to use the public rooms.

Benjamin Bull, chief counsel from Alliance Defense Fund, representing Faith Center Church Evangelistic Ministries stated "To bar them is viewpoint-based discrimination." A federal judged agreed and stopped the country from the religious discrimination. The county appealed and now the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will make a final decision.

County appeals church's right to pray in library