ACLU Leader Says Foot Bath Position Does Not Show Bias
The ACLU of Michigan has come under fire for choosing *not* to object to the University of Michigan at Deaborn's plan to install foot baths that will, among other things, accommodate Muslim students' need to wash their feet before prayer. The civil liberties watchdog only cries foul - the charge says - when Christians are accommodated. Today, ACLU of Michigan Director Kary Moss responds to that complain in a Detroit News op-ed.
[T]he issue of the University of Michigan Dearborn installing footbaths is complicated. This issue would be simpler if the government were building inherently religious facilities. Here, the footbaths are not inherently religious facilities -- they are not blessed, cannot be desecrated and are open to everyone for any purpose. They are essentially spigots in the bathroom wall.In addition, the motivation of the university seems to be a response to a practical cleanliness and safety issue. Not every government expenditure to promote safety is unconstitutional because it has an incidental benefit to worshippers.