Contact: Nicole Hay, Liberty Legal Institute, 972-423-3131 ext. 102
 
FORT WORTH, Texas, Jan 3. /Standard Newswire/ -- Just before New Year's Eve, a Fort Worth mother was kicked off the public bus for reading the Bible aloud to her children on the way to church. 

"What kind of person pulls over public transportation and kicks out a mother and her children for reading their Bible on the way to church?" said Kelly Shackelford, Chief Counsel for Liberty Legal Institute, the legal organization representing Christine Lutz.  "Freedom of religion exists on public transportation just like anywhere else."

Christine Lutz was reading the Bible to her children while on the way to church when the bus driver told her to stop.  Mrs. Lutz refused, and was forced to leave the bus.  The family was escorted off the bus and into a supervisor's van, which took the family to church. 

"This is outrageous religious hostility," said Shackelford.  "It also shows how far some government officials have slipped in their understanding of our Constitution and the most basic freedoms we all share."

Christine Lutz is demanding an apology letter from Fort Worth's transit system.  Liberty Legal Institute is also demanding that a letter be distributed to all drivers, informing them that individuals have the freedom to read the Bible while riding the public bus.

Liberty Legal Institute is a legal organization committed to the defense of religious freedoms and First Amendment rights. The Institute has won a myriad of cases at the highest levels, including two landmark religious freedoms cases in 2007 alone.  For more information, visit our website at www.libertylegal.org.

To set up an interview, please call Nicole Hay at (972) 423-3131 or e-mail media@libertylegal.org.