California Science Center sued over documentary attacking evolution

It may not have the dramatic sweep of "Inherit the Wind," but a local court case involving a documentary film that addresses the origins of life on Earth has bigwigs in the museum world talking.

The California Science Center, located in Los Angeles' Exposition Park, has been sued for allegedly canceling an October screening of a documentary that criticizes Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

A group called the American Freedom Alliance has sued the L.A. museum, claiming that the center violated both the 1st Amendment and a contract to rent the museum’s Imax theater when it nixed the screening of “Darwin’s Dilemma: The Mystery of the Cambrian Fossil Record.” 

The AFA, which sued the museum in L.A. Superior Court, is seeking punitive damages and compensation for financial losses, as well as a legal declaration from the court that the science center violated the United States Constitution and cannot refuse the AFA the right to rent its facilities for future events.

"Darwin's Dilemma" explores fossil records that some say point to the appearance on Earth of animal-like organisms without the evolutionary steps Darwin had predicted.

Also dragged into the legal mess is the Smithsonian Institution, which counts the California Science Center as one of its affiliates. Though not a defendant, the Smithsonian is mentioned prominently in at least one document that is now an exhibit in the lawsuit.

The AFA alleges that the California Science Center improperly bowed two months ago to pressure from the Smithsonian, as well as e-mailed complaints from professors at USC and others.

The American Freedom Alliance is an L.A.-based group that one of its officials describes as a nonprofit, nonpartisan "think tank and activist network promoting Western values and ideals."

Click here to read Mike Boehm's full story.

-- Mike Boehm and David Ng

Photo: Charles Darwin. Credit: Associated Press

Comments

[Peter]

Evolution and the origin of life are not the same thing, but this article conflates the two in the first paragraph.

[Joe]

The 1st Amendment states that you have the right to say what you want but it does not state that others are obligated to spread what you say nor that others should be forced to listen.

[julie Runco]

It's relative.

[readwiki]

IF the law can judge the order of nature how about our scientists ?

[Netgk]

"Intelligent Design" is not even a theory, contrary to what this articles calls it. A scientific theory starts out as a hypothesis, which must be subjected to, and must pass, rigorous testing and accumulate a vast body of knowledge behind it before it is called a "theory." Thus, we have the Theory of Gravity, the Theory of Light, and the Theory of Magnetism. There is no doubt about the existence of gravity, light, and magnetism. The Theory of Evolution is similarly sound, unlike the purely whimsical notion of Intelligent Design. Those who think that "Intelligent Design" stands on equal footing with Evolution have no idea how much experimental effort goes into establishing a fact. They need to study evolution and see how vast the evidence really is. Until then, they speak from utter ignorance.

[My opinon means nothing]

What people do not understand is that the bible is NOT a science text. It does not even claim to be that. But, where it does speak of science, it is most accurate. Such as at Isaiah 44:22 talking about the circle of the earth when all other cultures and not until Columbis did anybody even believe that. To them, the earth was flat, rode on the back of a turtle, or some big guy, or even on the backs of three elephants! Charles Darwin said in "The Origin of Species" on page 83 of part two, "IF numerous species have really started into life at once, the fact would be FATAL to the theory of evolution." The Cambrian layer shows life coming into existance suddenly and nothing or not much before that. Since that is a fact, what are these scientests (sp) afraid of? What takes more faith: believing in something that can't be truly proven beyond a reasonable doubt such as evolution or the bible that says life came into existence suddenly?

[Donald Frazell]

Uh, a circle IS flat, a sphere is what we live on. And no, life did not all the sudden, but the Cambrian life had evolved just enough to leave a record, tube worms leaving burroughs, the first corrals and shellfish, single celled animals dont leave fossils. Stop reaching son, even the Pope accepted evolution long ago. All major christian religions do. They just dont bring it up much.