In what could not have been an easy decision, a Triangle-area judge has sided with religious freedom in a case that pits an individual's right to go to a church against society's need to protect children from potential sex offenses. Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour's ruling in a Chatham County case represents a sensible balancing of interests that deserves to be upheld on appeal.
The case involves a provision in a year-old state law that prevents certain registered sex offenders from being within 300 feet of any place intended primarily for the use, care or supervision of minors. Many churches operate nursery schools and day care centers, and being on the grounds of the Moncure Baptist Church led to the arrest of James Nichols and Frankie Demaio, registered offenders.
Nichols says God is helping him change. The judge, assessing the law's constitutionality, found it too vague and that it imposes what amounts to a blanket ban on church attendance. Less sweeping restrictions could still assure security, he said.
