UPDATE: "Arrested for Praying in Public" Case - Two Educators Cleared of Contempt Charges
Pace High School Principal Frank Lay and Athletic Director Robert Freeman of the Santa Rosa County School District in Florida had been held in contempt of an earlier ACLU/Santa Rosa County School District "Consent Order" which demanded that no Santa Rosa school employees attempt to influence anyone with their biblical faith or exercise their faith in public. Although the luncheon honored people who had donated to a school-associated athletic project, the defense claimed there were no students at the luncheon (the ACLU claimed there were); the two educators were on their own time and did not believe anyone in attendance objected to the meal blessing.
To be fair to the ACLU, the ACLU website article interpreting this case holds that the men were not "arrested for praying" but because they had previously presented religious materials to students, and knowingly signed a Consent Order not to engage in the above activities again.
However, the court decided the men were not in contempt of the Consent Order by praying at the luncheon. According to the Liberty Counsel's latest Press Release (Liberty Counsel defended the two men), there were many supporters of the defendants in the courtroom and on the streets, some wearing t-shirts specialized for the occasion. An enthusiastic wave of relief went through the crowd.
Case was heard on a significant day - Constitution Day:
That the full day-long case took place on September 17 was ironic and significant, as it was Constitution Day for the United States of America -the U.S. Constitution was signed 222 years ago on this date. To complete the irony, a copy of the famous painting which depicts the signing of the Declaration of Independence hangs in that very courtroom.
The Liberty Counsel's next step will most likely be to get the Consent Order itself declared unconstitutional as it could still set precedents for cases of this type around the country. There is a huge misunderstanding that the mythical phrase "separation of church and state" means people of faith must not be seen praying anywhere in public. This phrase does not appear in the First Amendment or anywhere else in the Constitution, and its implications are untrue. Yet the ACLU brings cases against Bible believers all over the country in the name of "free speech."
In this writer's assessment, the U.S. Constitution does not say that people have freedom from hearing someone else's religious free speech; especially if it is peacefully delivered and unforceful.
The original version of this article was published earlier today at The Underground Online Magazine, www.theundergroundsite.com.
Sources:
-U.S. Constitution.
-Liberty Counsel's Press Release http://www.lc.org/index.cfm?PID=14100&PRID=857.
Published by Sheryl Young - Featured Contributor in Politics
Freelance writer since 1997; Featured Political Contributor for Yahoo!; Tampa Tribune Community Columnist/Blogger; Chicken Soup for the Soul; Amy Foundation National Writing Award; happy wife, proud step-mom... View profile
- Are You an E-mail or Twitter Alarmist?If you're the first person to get upset about every e-mail or Twitter that says "Urgent - Spread the Word," this article is for you.
- The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution in ComparisonA comparison of the American Articles of Confederation and the American Constitution and how they spawned the first American political party system.
- Will Liberals Ever Recognize the Constitution?Will Liberals ever recognize the Constitution and its authority? That is a serious question. Because every day that passes convinces me more and more that the political left has no interest in doing so.
Why America Does Not Need an Emergency ConstitutionThere's been some talk about creating what would be known as an emergency Constitution that would allow the restriction of rights and give the President more power during times...- The Father of the Constitution: James MadisonJames Madison was the fourth President of the United States serving in office from 1809 to 1817. He is remembered as the "Father of the Constitution," because of the key role he played in the creation of the United St...
- Arrested for Praying in Public - Guilty by Association
- The Bible, the Constitution, Libertarians, and Abortion
- Changes to the British Constitution Since 1997
- The Constitution: Its True Function
- The Constitution and Sectional Discord in the 1850s Part II
- Constitution Day: Holiday and History
- Why We MUST Celebrate Constitution Day
51 Comments
Post a CommentHey there Sheryl,
You're always encouraging me by reading my articles (even if they are pretty bad...I'm not fooling myself ;) As far as the article is concerned...you're a fantastic writer...well, no wonder you've worked for the Tampa Tribune! I can't believe what this world is coming to. There are no words....
CAtching up today. THanks for following up on this. You manage to present a very balanced article in the face of a very unbalanced case. Didn't some of the first colonist come to freely practice their faith? We've come a long way. The wrong way.
Those charges were such a load of crap. Nice work on the article.
I think it's a shame that the two educators were ever held in contempt. I don't know if they served jail time or paid fine for the contempt, but the mental duress was more of a punishment for a non malicious act than was deserved. I'm glad that a judge saw through the ACLU shenanigans and lifted the charge. It's too bad that we can't be truely "one nation under God" He had His hand in the establishment of this great country. It is only weakened each time we fail to acknowledge it. Thanks for the update.
This is so sad to me, but I enjoyed the article. Great work!
Un beliveable! Thanks for the info, great article!
Good work on choosing a topic that illicits such strong responses from readers!
Praise the Lord!
It is very important to defend the right to worship.
Thanks for the update. Praying over a meal is harmless, provided there's no expectation that people who do not want to will be forced, or at least intimidated, into joining in. Handing out religious matter to or proselytizing the students is another story, indeed.