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ACLU Attacking Prayer in Louisiana

A guest at one of the high school graduation ceremonies in Ouachita Parish has contacted the Louisiana American Civil Liberties Union to complain about religious activities at a public event, Executive Director Joe Cook said Thursday.

The person, whom Cook would not identify, was not related to any of the graduates. "We still entertained the complaint but would like to have a relative or a student," Cook said. "In this particular case, they were very disturbed by what happened."

Following a direction by the Ouachita Parish School system, seniors at the six high schools in the parish voted to determine whether prayer would be a part of each graduation ceremony.
All six schools voted to have prayer led by a student. The vote for prayer was unanimous by the students at Ouachita Parish High School.

Cook said in cases like these, the ACLU often files suit using a pseudonym because people are very intimidated and afraid that if they speak up they will be ostracized and made to feel unwelcome in the community.

"Just because you're the majority, it doesn't give you the right to trample on the minority." Cook said.

If the ACLU files a lawsuit against Ouachita Parish School Board, Cook said that it would be based on a violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution, which is sometimes referred to as the establishment clause.

The amendment reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people to peaceably to assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Cook said that according to what's been reported, at least one of the graduations in Ouachita Parish was "like a prayer meeting with the Lord's Prayer and Amen."

"It amounts to government sponsored religion," he said. "In a free and democratic society, the government must be neutral. Where is the neutrality?"

It sounds to me like they were under conviction and didn't like it.


The person was a guest and had the freedom to get up and leave if he/she wanted to.


Naturally they always overlook this portion and consider it non-existent.


It was the students that took this action not the school itself. It had nothing to do with government sponsorship.

Like always the ACLU is hard at censoring Christians and twisting the law to suit their anti-Christian agenda. Notice the ACLU wants a student instead of this person as a client. They know it might hold more power in the courts since this person had no ties to students or staff.

On top of that brother... as you said it was a guest who was free to leave at any time.  And they cannot use the excuse that they should not be put into that position....You also pointed out it was the kids who wanted to do this.  And that guest needs to remember that he or she was there for the kids...this was not about them or anyone else in the audience...it was all about the kids...and by golly if they wanted to pray then let them pray!

Amen!

It is the liberal attitude of "What I want is more important than what anyone else wants." It is the attempt to turn all Christians into secularists so that they won't be the minority. Then when that happens they will shift to the majority rules again.