Dallas County judge rules defamation lawsuit against Gateway Church, Robert Morris can move forward
A Dallas County judge has ruled that a lawsuit filed against Gateway Church in Southlake by a survivor of sexual assault can move forward.
Cindy Clemishire sued the church and its elders for defamation, claiming they downplayed and mischaracterized abuse she suffered as a child at the hands of the church’s founder and former lead pastor, Robert Morris.
The church asked the case be dismissed, arguing courts have no right to intervene in church matters.
“The doctrine is all about protecting the First Amendment, that the courts and the government shouldn’t get into the affairs of the Church, so that’s why I think fundamentally, it’s a major Constitutional issue,” said attorney Bill Mateja who represents Morris in the case.
Judge Emily Tobolowsky disagreed with the church, striking its argument down in a new ruling Tuesday.
I'll never get tired of posting this…
— Christian Nightmares (@christiannightmare.bsky.social) November 10, 2025 at 3:19 PM
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Here’s what this is all about: Back in December of 2015, two private Christian schools, Cambridge Christian School (CCS) and University Christian School, made it all the way to the championship game in the state’s class 2A football playoffs. Before the game, one of the CCS administrators wanted to say prayers over the public address system. But the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA), which oversees all games, correctly said no. This was a state-run event. It was televised. It was at a public facility. It would be illegal for Christians to hijack the loudspeaker system for religious purposes.
Obviously no one was stopping the Christian players and coaches from praying on their own, but as we all know by now, conservative Christians don’t believe prayer counts unless they can push it upon everyone else. (In fact, before the championship game, the players, coaches, administrators, and “at least one referee” gathered at midfield to pray together. They did the same thing afterwards, too. But because those prayers weren’t broadcast to the public, no one, including the FHSAA, had a problem with it.)…..
The judges did, however, weigh in on the merits of the case anyway. They said that the history of the FHSAA’s loudspeaker policies confirmed that it was government speech. (It was almost entirely scripted and delivered by an announcer selected by an outside group, not a representative from competing schools.) There was only one example the judges could find of a Christian school principal being allowed to pray over the loudspeaker. It took place during a championship game in 2012, but they noted that “One instance does not a history make.”
They also said that the public would reasonably assume comments over the loudspeaker were government speech and that the state endorsed the message.
Finally, they said that the government had control of the messages being delivered over the loudspeaker, therefore not giving Christian representatives access to the loudspeaker wasn’t a rejection of their free speech rights.
Creepy. I daresay NO ONE, unless you’re mentally ill, hears god talking to them out loud. AI to the rescue to make a buck.
had to reallly laugh at this kook. Clue: We live in AMERICA, not a theocracy
Yesterday, a Republican tried to give me holy water and Trump perfume because I’m “demonic.” Extremely normal stuff coming from an extremely normal party.
— Kat Abughazaleh (@katmabu.bsky.social) November 17, 2025 at 4:32 PM
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Jesus Christ…
— Christian Nightmares (@christiannightmare.bsky.social) November 5, 2025 at 3:39 PM
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— Lady Brentwood (@brentwoodgus.bsky.social) November 17, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Forcing us to ask: Is it more undignified to talk with a supposed AI avatar of your dead parent, or your personal lord and savior? www.avclub.com/gji-ai-promi…
— The A.V. Club (@avclub.com) November 14, 2025 at 6:35 PM
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Not a joke: You have to pay extra to chat with Satan.
— Kevin Ashton 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈 (@kevinashton.bsky.social) November 14, 2025 at 3:15 PM
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Evergreen Ted Cruz post…
— Christian Nightmares (@christiannightmare.bsky.social) November 4, 2025 at 9:48 AM
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New Hampshire town pulls plug on open forum after Satanists hoist flag
But the revised policy also creates another problem: If “Citizen’s Place” is now fully controlled by the city, why are they keeping the Ten Commandments monument there?
In fact, during the city council meeting earlier this month, member Paul Goodwin brought up that point, suggesting it was hypocritical of them to remove public access to the second pole while ignoring the “elephant in the room” that “there’s a giant granite monument to Christianity directly next to these flag poles.”
I don’t know who Shane Vaughn is but wowzer, he’s a kook –Shane Vaughn Tells MAGA They Cannot Turn Against Trump Because He’ ‘God’s Leader’
Florida’s proposed loyalty oath for educators would ban atheists from becoming teachers
