The North Carolina State University was sued by a Christian-led group over claims that the institution violated free-speech rights.
A religious student group that is officially recognized by North Carolina State University, Grace Christian Life, sued the institution for requiring a permit to allow students to talk about Jesus, Fox News reported.
The group, Alliance Defending Freedom, filed a federal lawsuit against the institution after school officials prohibited student-members of the group from speaking about Jesus to fellow students on the campus grounds.
The university stated that the evangelizing people on the campus was against the school's "Speech Permit Policy."
The Christian-led group claims that the policy was unconstitutional and suppresses the practice of free-speech. The religious group claims that requiring a group member to acquire a permit in order to talk about Jesus goes against what was stated in the First Amendment.
A federal judge had asked attorneys present on Thursday why was the institution's permit policy was approved, which the judge cites that the policy goes against constitutional free-speech protection.
Lawyers representing the largest public school in North Carolina stated that the rules were imposed for the sake of the staff and the students' safety. The lawyers explained to the judge that the policy was to limit disruptions within the campus from speakers from any group to express their views, according to the Fay Observer.
A lawyer representing Alliance Defending Freedom argued that the reason given by the institution was not a sufficient excuse to limit free-speech. The Arizona-based Christian legal nonprofit group said that micromanaging the discussions of the students are unconstitutional.
The federal judge, James Dever III, had announced that he would come to a decision this weekend. The judge would soon decide whether to counter the institution's permit policy, The Daily Signal reported.
The North Carolina State University has a student body of 30,000 adults. Dever questioned the lawyers of NCSU why would 30,000 students need a permit to discuss religion, politics, or even the economy.
