ATHEISTS File LAWSUIT Against Gov. Rick Perry Over Christian Prayer Summit

[Segami]

"...MSNBC host Rachel Maddow showed a series of clips of evangelical Christian preachers who are
participating in Perry's prayer summit. One preacher participating in the event has said that the
stock market in Japan fell because the emperor had sex with a “sun goddess” demon. Another has
proclaimed that Lady Liberty is actually a "demonic idol" meant to distract Americans from Christ..."


:smoke:


" The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday to prevent Texas Republican Governor Rick Perry from taking part in a planned evangelical Christian prayer rally he initiated in Houston. Perry proclaimed August 6 as a "Day of Prayer and Fasting for our Nation to seek God's guidance" and invited governors from across the nation to join his Christian prayer summit at Reliant Stadium.



The legal complaint asks the federal court to declare unconstitutional Perry’s organization, promotion and participation in the event because it violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. It says Perry's active participation in the event violates the U.S. Constitution by “giving the appearance that the government prefers evangelical Christian religious beliefs over other religious beliefs and non-beliefs, including by aligning and partnering with the American Family Association, a virulent, discriminatory and evangelical Christian organization known for its intolerance.”



The FFRF's legal complaint also alleges that Perry has embraced the views of the American Family Association.



- The Director of Issue Analysis for Government and Public Policy at the American Family Association once proclaimed that "homosexuality gave us Adolph Hitler , and homosexuals in the military gave us the Brown Shirts, the Nazi war machine and six million dead Jews."



Bryan Fischer is no stranger to outlandish comments, such as claiming WikiLeaks shows that gays shouldn't be allowed in the military and warning President Barack Obama would hand over the entire land mass of the U.S. to Native Americans. In March, he said the right to freedom of religion guaranteed in the Constitution does not apply to Muslims.



cont'



http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/07/13/atheists-file-lawsuit-against-gov-rick-perry-over-prayer-summit/

[AmericaIsGreat]

1. Any reason why they wouldn't win? n/m

[Segami]

6. I can only wish them all the success as they appear before a Texas Judge.

Here is the Plaintiff's Complaint:

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/84672797/Freedom-From-Religion-Foundation-v-Perry-complaint



Does it violate the " Establishment Clause of the First Amendment."?



At an absolute minimum, the Establishment Clause was intended to prohibit the federal government from declaring and financially supporting a national religion, such as existed in many other countries at the time of the nation's founding. It is far less clear whether the Establishment Clause was also intended to prevent the federal government from supporting Christianity in general. Proponents of a narrow interpretation of the clause point out that the same First Congress that proposed the Bill of Rights also opened its legislative day with prayer and voted to apportion federal dollars to establish Christian missions in the Indian lands. On the other hand, persons seeing a far broader meaning in the clause point to writings by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison suggesting the need to establish "a wall of separation" between church and state.

Supreme Court interpretation of the Establishment Clause does not begin until 1947 in Everson v Board of Education. Voting 5 to 4, the Court upheld a state law that reimbursed parents for the cost of busing their children to parochial schools. (It was clear from the various opinions in Everson that if the state had reimbursed the parochial schools for the cost of providing the transportation, that it would have been found to violate the Establishment Clause.) Although in his majority opinion Justice Black wrote of the "wall of separation" that the Constitution maintains between church and state, Black viewed the aid in question of serving the state's secular interest in getting kids "safely and expeditiously" to schools. The case is noteworthy for its extensive discussion of the purposes of the Establishment Clause, and for the fact that all nine justices agree that the clause was intended to do far more than merely prohibit the establishment of a state religion.

Subsequent decisions make clear that a majority of justices on the Supreme Court view "the wall" separating church and state more as a shifting, porous barrier. Small factual differences in cases often produce different outcomes. For example, in 1948, the Court found that the practice of inviting religious instructors into public schools to give optional religious instruction violates the Establishment Clause. Then, in the 1952 case of Zorach v Clauson, the Court upheld the practice of giving public school students "release time" so that they could attend religious programs in churches in synagogues. Writing for the Court in Zorach, Justice Douglas said the Constitution does not require "callous indifference to religion."


http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/estabinto.htm


.

[riderinthestorm]

2. Oh its just a little prayer...

:sarcasm: :sarcasm:

[UTUSN]

3. k&r #11 for, SIGN me UP!1 (pls delete tht pic of the a-hole) n/t

[Angry Dragon]

4. I say let them pray

If on the next day after they pray and fast then they have to take the pledge to give up all religion because it did not work
I wonder if they are willing to take that challenge?? If it does not work guys you walk away from religion

[Faryn Balyncd]

5. Lady Liberty should PICKET Perry's Reliant Stadium prayer meeting.

.....or perhaps a few thousand supporters of Lady Liberty.



Perry is un-American.

[upi402]

7. People who stand up to Christians here in Jesusland

are damn brave folks.

Hats off to them all.