Free speech ... and free Bibles

COEUR d'ALENE - As students at Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy waited for their rides after school on Tuesday, they were given something extra to tuck into their book bags - pocket-sized Bibles, courtesy of Gideons International.

Principal Dan Nicklay said members of the evangelist group came into the school and asked if they could hand the books out before doing so.

"If they're on city property, which the sidewalk is, it's not a school issue," Nicklay said.

The same would apply to any group distributing literature on the city sidewalk, he said.

"It's free speech. We have nothing to say as long as you're not blocking the sidewalks or traffic," Nicklay said.

Gideons International distributed 75.9 million pieces of literature last year, according to the Nashville-based group's Web site. Gideons is an "interdenominational association of Christian business and professional men who are members of Protestant/evangelical churches."

They are known best for their Bibles found in hotel and motel rooms.

In the nearly 100 years since The Gideons International placed its first Bible in a hotel room in Montana, the organization has spread into 180 countries.

The local Gideons share an address with Ace Hardware on Sherman Avenue in Coeur d'Alene.

A Gideons member answered the phone at that location Tuesday, but would not give his name. He confirmed that his organization hands out Bibles to school children, but they do not go into a school unless it's private and they're invited.

Lakes Magnet Middle School principal Chris Hammons said Gideons come out to his school every year.

He believes they hit the sidewalks outside all the Coeur d'Alene public middle schools.

"We don't like the fact that they feel like they have a captive audience, and we get a lot of phone calls from parents complaining about it," Hammons said.