DAVID WILLIAMSON, CHASE HANSEL, KEITH BECHER, RONALD GORDON, JEFFERY KOEBERL, CENTRAL FLORIDA FREETHOUGHT COMMUNITY, SPACE COAST FREETHOUGHT ASSOCIATION, HUMANIST COMMUNITY OF THE SPACE COAST, v. BREVARD COUNTY
On July 10, 2019, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that the Brevard County, Fla., Commissioners’ policy of using religious beliefs to determine who can offer invocations at public meetings is unconstitutional and discriminatory. The case, Williamson v. Brevard County, was brought by the ACLU, the ACLU of Florida, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The 2015 filing challenged the Brevard County Board of County Commissioners’ policy of excluding nontheists from delivering invocations at board meetings — an opportunity offered only to those who hold certain monotheistic beliefs.
