Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Toto · 05-04-2002, 12:29 PM

Interesting article <a href="http://www.latimes.com/features/religion/la-000031379may03.story?coll=la%2Dnews%2Dreligion" target="_blank">here (requires free registration)</a> on Huntington Beach (an upscale city in Orange County). The mayor decided that the invocations before council meetings were a violation of c-s separation, and stopped them. Some idiot thinks that the city needs divine guidance, so she gets up during the public portion of the council meeting and prays.

As noted in the article:

Quote:

Burbank was sued in 1999 by Jewish Defense League Chairman Irv Rubin after a minister delivered a prayer invoking the name of Jesus Christ at a City Council meeting. Rubin claimed the religious reference was unconstitutional, and a year later a Los Angeles judge ordered Burbank to bar prayers that reflect a specific religion's beliefs.

Since then, the council has begun each meeting with a nondenominational invocation. In addition, the agenda now warns that sectarian prayer has been deemed unconstitutional.

Burbank is appealing the ruling. The last time the U.S. Supreme Court took up the issue was in 1983, when it upheld the constitutionality of an opening invocation at legislative sessions.

GaryP · 05-05-2002, 03:41 AM

Good for the lady who stopped the prayers.
I thought it was illegal to begin local govt. meetings with prayer.
In my city, the council did it for years and then the law direcotor told them it could be a problem. So now they pray immediately before the meeting starts. I asked Americans United about the legality of it and, you guessed it, it is OK.
Our fed. district court ruled that Cleveland City Schools can't open board meetings with prayer. Some of the schools in my county just ignore that ruling.
And why do "non-sectarian" prayers get the Ok? Isn't it unconstitutional to promote religion over non-religion?

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05-05-2002, 03:41 AM	#2
GaryP Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Lancaster, OH Posts: 1,792	Good for the lady who stopped the prayers. I thought it was illegal to begin local govt. meetings with prayer. In my city, the council did it for years and then the law direcotor told them it could be a problem. So now they pray immediately before the meeting starts. I asked Americans United about the legality of it and, you guessed it, it is OK. Our fed. district court ruled that Cleveland City Schools can't open board meetings with prayer. Some of the schools in my county just ignore that ruling. And why do "non-sectarian" prayers get the Ok? Isn't it unconstitutional to promote religion over non-religion?

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