Jacksonville, USA - The Florida Education Association, and religious leaders filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging a proposed constitutional amendment that would remove language from the Florida constitution banning public dollars for religious groups.
The suit says removal of the language, known as the Blaine Amendment, makes it easier for taxpayer dollars to flow to parochial-school vouchers.
"This is a shady way of opening the door for school vouchers for all," Andy Ford. FEA's president.
Backers of the amendment, which needs two-thirds voter support, said that it is needed so that governments are neutral to religious organizations, and that the Blaine Amendment can hurt some religious groups like soup kitchens.
Here is the Blaine Amendment's exact language:
"No revenue of the state or any political subdivision or agency thereof shall ever be taken from the public treasury directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution."
The FEA is joined on the suit by a host of religious leaders, including Harry Parrott of Clay County. He is a retired Baptist minister.