National Archives Apologizes After Telling Visitors to Cover Pro-Life Clothes to See Bill of Rights

The National Archives Friday’s apology included a reminder to visitors that they should cover up or remove any pro-life attire when they visit the Bill Of Rights chamber.

“As the home to the original Constitution and Bill of Rights, which enshrine the rights of free speech and religion, we sincerely apologize for this occurrence,” According to the National Archives and Records Administration, which manages the National Archives Museum located in Washington,

After conservative law group American Center for Law & Justice, (ACLJ) sued NARA for First Amendment violations on behalf of March for Life participants in three states, the apology was issued. According to the complaint (PDFEach of them “separately and uniquely decided to visit the National Archives to view our nation’s founding documents” While wearing clothing with prolife messages on the morning and afternoon of Jan. 20,

However, after entering the museum, pro-life visitors were confronted by security guards, who were not happy with their prolife attire.

Wendilee Lassiter was a law student at the evangelical Christian Liberty University in Virginia. She was wearing a sweatshirt with the following message: “I am the post-Roe Generation: Law Students for Life” When she visited the National Archives Museum, she was accompanied by a group of students. Two security guards approached her and said that she was “disturbing the peace” Because her sweatshirt “will incite others” And “cause a disturbance.”

When Lassiter asked: “I can’t come in here unless I take my sweatshirt off?” One security guard replied, ” “No, you can’t.” She took off her sweatshirt in fear of being kicked out of the museum. The order was also followed by her fellow students.

Another claim by the law student was that she also saw at most two other visitors on that morning “freely walking around” While wearing clothing that appeared to be pro-abortion, including statements such as “I am pro-abortion,” “My Body, My Choice,” And “Pro-Choice.”

L.R. is another visitor identified in the lawsuit. He is a Catholic high-school student from Michigan. A security guard “specifically instructed” L.R. L.R. “could not be wearing anything pro-life” She must also cover her shirt when she is reading “Life is a HUMAN RIGHT” Until she left the chamber. She was also advised to take a “Pro-Love is the New Pro-Life” Close the bag by pressing the button.

“L.R. immediately believed her constitutional rights were being violated by the very government officials tasked with protecting them,” It was stated.

NARA responded to the lawsuit by stating that its policy “expressly allows all visitors to wear t-shirts, hats, buttons, etc. that display protest language, including religious and political speech.”

“We are actively investigating to determine what happened,” According to the federal agency. “Early indications are that our security officers quickly corrected their actions and, from that point forward, all visitors were permitted to enter our facility without needing to remove or cover their attire. We have reminded all of our security officers at our facilities across the country of the rights of visitors in this regard.”

The National Archives wasn’t the only Washington museum trying to censor March for Life participants on Jan. 20, according to the ACLJ, which brought a First Amendment lawsuit against the Smithsonian for the same reason.

A group of Catholic parents and students from South Carolina attempted to enter Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. However, they were mocked by museum staff who claimed that the facility was a terrorist organization. “neutral zone” They could not wear prolife hats where they were prohibited.

According to the complaintPDFAfter passing through the entry point, the students were asked to put on their hats again. The museum staff confronted the students and demanded they either “take them off or leave,” With one of the staff members screaming at a student “You need to take off your hats. We are a museum that promotes equality, and your hats do not promote equality.”

Smithsonian also apologized for the incident and released a statement admitting that it was sorry. “a security officer mistakenly told young visitors that their pro-life hats were not permitted in the museum.”

“Asking visitors to remove hats and clothing is not in keeping with our policy or protocols. We provided immediate retraining to prevent a re-occurrence of this kind of error,” According to the taxpayer-funded research institute. “The Smithsonian welcomes all visitors without regard to their beliefs. We do not deny access to our museums based on the messages on visitors’ clothing.”