I’ve been distracted by other issues recently, and I realized today that I’d failed to post an update on the Adam Race story recently.  I apologize for this.  I’m much better at dealing with one miscreant at a time, so the recent surfeit of jackasses has disoriented me somewhat.  There has been news in the case, although it’s not encouraging news at all.

On June 24, Carol Race appeared in a court hearing to defend herself and challenge the restraining order filed by Daniel “Not In MY Church” Walz.  Race represented herself at the hearing, and even had the opportunity to cross-examine Walz on the stand for about am hour, during which time he admitted that many of the accusations in the restraining order were based on hearsay, but that he “believes” that they happened.  Well, at least he believes in something.

The presiding judge one Sally Ireland Robertson, concluded the hearing by saying she would take the matter under advisement and would “rule later.”  This in itself was somewhat disappointing.  The next time my job forces me to make a quick decision, I’d like that “rule later” option for myself.

The following week, Robertson announced her ruling, which surprised no one.  She upheld the restraining order as proper, which actually makes sense to me.  After all, the question was never whether or not Walz had a right to do such a heartless, stupid thing, but instead whether he should have done it.  Using what seem to be very clear-cut guidelines, the judge ruled that Adam’s alleged behavior constituted “harassment.”

Walz’ actions are inexplicable, at least without doing some research involving the DSM.  Faced with objections, outrage, and ridicule from every corner of the globe, he is nonetheless stubbornly maintaining his unpopular position and has not rescinded the restraining order as any intelligent, compassionate man would have done by now.  This is why I do not use his church title when I write of him today.  Actually, something that begins with “Mother” might be more appropriate, but I’ll leave that as an exercise for the reader.

The Race family has started a new web site known as “Project: Adam’s Pew.”  The site is pretty rough at the moment but it’s a good start, and I encourage you to stop by for a look.  Race is encouraging churches around the world to designate a pew specifically reserved for people with autism and other developmental disorders.

Oh, and a special note for our good friend, frequent commenter “Ben” from Minnesota.  Ben, your opinions are welcome here in the comments.  So are everyone else’s.  If you don’t like what someone has said, you are more than welcome to disagree with it and say so.  What I cannot tolerate are your assertions that unless someone is a member of Walz’ flock, his or her opinion carries less weight.  That constitutes an ad hominem attack, and is simply a lazy way of avoiding the hard work of supporting your argument.