Gang members in Nebraska are “wilding for respect.” They have taken the rosary as their gang symbol. Fear of the gang has made the public school system in the town has went as far as banning the rosary from being worn in schools. Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
@WiL

School administrators in a Nebraska town of 26,000 told a middle school girl to take off her cross necklace because it looks too much like a rosary, which they say is being used by gang members.
Twelve-year-old Elizabeth Cary says her necklace is a reminder of her faith. And she vowed to stand up for what she believes in and fight the Fremont, Neb., school district, where she is a sixth grader.
The local Catholic archdioceses has condemned the decision to ban rosaries from schools and says administrators should be smart enough to tell which students are at risk for gang activity.

‘We ought to be able to figure out whether she is really in a gang. And if she’s not, why would she be punished for what ought to be her right of religious freedom and religious expression?’ asked Rev. Joseph Taphorn.
Taphorn told KETV-7 in Omaha, Neb., that the ban on rosaries is an infringement on Elizabeth’s rights to freely practice her religion.
‘It makes me feel like I want to scream really bad,’ Elizabeth told the TV station.

Fremont schools Superintendent Steve Sexton said the district banned rosaries after police told him local gang members were using the traditional Catholic prayer beads for gang identification.
Incidents of rosaries being used as gang items have also been reported in Arizona, Oregon and Texas.
Little Elizabeth said she doesn’t even know what a gang is and doesn’t understand why the school won’t let her wear her necklace any more.
‘I’m deciding to stand up for Jesus and do whatever I can to stop this,’ she said

DM