Chula Vista, Ca- The American Family Association Center for Law & Policy (CLP) has lodged a civil rights complaint against the City of Chula Vista and the supervisor of its recreation department. The complaint stems from a December 3 incident in which a Christian hip-hop dance group affiliated with a local church, after being invited to perform, was removed by a city official from a holiday festival performance sponsored by the city.

The plaintiffs in the suit include six minors, parents, and a dance instructor. The lawsuit alleges that the dancers “were not allowed to perform because of their [Jesus Dancer] T-shirts and the Christian theme music they intended to dance to.” The girls’ black T-shirts displayed a silver cross and the word “Jesus Dancer” on the front. The lawsuit also claims that city employee John Gates told dance team Lita Martinez “that the girls could not perform because of the ‘whole Christian issue.'”

The lawsuit explains that the decision by the Department of Recreation to deny the dance team’s performance “was not made in an instant; it took approximately 80 minutes to check with persons in authority.” The dance troupe, according to a CLP press statement, was scheduled to perform first but was kept waiting while the officials deliberated. The plaintiffs allege that upon hearing the city official’s decision, the girls — ages 8 through 12 — began to cry, some “hysterically.”

The defendant’s decision “was impermissible viewpoint-based discrimination against religious speech in a public forum,” alleges the lawsuit, resulting in the “plaintiffs [being] deprived of their right of free speech in a public forum.”

Lawyers for the case cited portions in the holiday event where city officials allowed other forms of religious content to be expressed. This included a performance of “Hawaiian dancers dancing to recorded music that had religious themes” and the Chula Vista mayor introducing a rabbi who lit a menorah. According to the CLP, the impermissible viewpoint claim is shown by the city prohibiting “the name of Jesus being displayed and the songs with words that praise the Christian God from being played while permitting other religious and secular songs and expression.”

A trial by jury is requested. The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the defendant’s actions unconstitutional, award nominal damages against the defendants, award punitive damages to Mr. Gates only, and award plaintiffs the cost of litigation.

CLP attorney Brain Fahling and his legal team are expecting to hear from the city’s attorney office this week. “The city’s conduct was, in a word, inexcusable,” Fahling comments. And when informed the city’s legal department was reportedly preparing an official response to the incident, he responded: “Well, now they can prepare an official response to the lawsuit.”

Without resolution in a court of law, Fahling adds, “there is no way to guarantee that these little girls and other Christians won’t receive similar treatment by the city in the future.”

The CLP is partnering in the case with the Escondido, California, law firm of Palecek, Skaja & Broyles, LLP.