CHESAPEAKE, Va. — After months of controversy, the After School Satan Club (ASSC) held its first meeting at a Chesapeake primary school Thursday night.
The club raised some eyebrows in Chesapeake after organizers received permission from school administrators to open their club at B.M. Williams Primary School months ago.
Some concerned parents and Chesapeake residents raised concerns to 13News Now if the After School Satan Club is legal. We asked one legal analyst who said it is.
"This might be something that people don't like, but according to decisions by the Supreme Court, those programs are going to be allowed to move forward," said Ed Booth, a Hampton Roads legal analyst.
According to a 2004 Supreme Court decision, "Good News Club vs. Milford Central School," school divisions cannot discriminate against speech that takes place within a "limited public forum" on the basis of religion.
A public school can become a limited public forum once school-aged children leave after school hours. Restrictions can be placed upon these spaces, but the basis of religion cannot be one of the reasons.
"The idea is to have a level playing field for all after-school programs that may be religious in nature," said Booth.
Already, a "Good News Club," an Evangelical Christian club for children, meets at B.M. Williams Primary School.
13News Now spoke to one volunteer with The Satanic Temple who previously said the After School Satan Club is meant to offer an alternative to the Good News Club.
However, protestors have said they will continue to protest the club at every scheduled meeting.
Steve Scheerbaum is a devout Catholic in the area who said he and other Christians in the area will meet outside the school to pray until the club is no longer allowed to meet.
"We’re out here to make reparation, more so than our feelings, we feel that the rights of God have been violated terribly," Scheerbaum said as a group of about 20 protestors prayed outside of Thursday's meeting.
An attorney representing the After School Satan Club said they are working with Chesapeake school administrators to guarantee their club members' safety while meetings occur.
The next meeting is scheduled for March, with at least two make-up dates for December and January expected to follow.