| Article: ACLJ
Defending National Day of Prayer |
We are once again in federal court defending the constitutionality of the National Day of Prayer. This  time representing members of Congress in a critically important amicus brief filed in a federal appeals court. As you know, a federal district court in Wisconsin recently ruled in favor of the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s claim that the National Day of Prayer violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
This ruling is clearly flawed and out of step with more than 200 years of history, Supreme Court precedent, and multiple acts of Congress. The case is now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. We filed an amicus brief on behalf of 67 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate – both Republican and Democrat. We’ve also filed on behalf of thousands of members of the Committee to Protect the National Day of Prayer. This brief clearly demonstrates that the district court’s ruling should be overturned. While it seems absurd that the National Day of Prayer could have been found unconstitutional in the first place, it is vital that the appeals court overturns this lower court decision. This is a case that is being followed closely and the ramifications of the outcome of this case will have dramatic ramifications – the future of the time-honored tradition of a national day to pray for our nation hangs in the balance. Our brief includes a lengthy appendix detailing the robust history of prayer proclamations, including presidential proclamations dating back to George Washington. It’s also significant to note that James Madison, who authored the First Amendment that is at the center of this challenge, himself issued four similar proclamations of prayer. You can read our amicus brief here. History and the law are clearly on the side of the National Day of Prayer. We will continue fighting to make sure that the courts recognize this fact. We’re delighted to represent 67 members of Congress in this brief at the appeals court level. We want to thank Rep. Randy Forbes of Virginia for taking the lead on this Congressional effort. Rep. Forbes and Rep. Mike McIntyre of North Carolina co-chair the Congressional Prayer Caucus. The complete oflist is posted in alphabetical order below: Rep. Randy Forbes Sen. Sam Brownback Sen. James Inhofe Sen. Mike Johanns Sen. Roger Wicker Rep. Robert Aderholt Rep. Todd Akin Rep. Rodney Alexander Rep. Michelle Bachmann Rep. Spencer Bachus Rep. Gresham Barrett Rep. Roscoe Bartlett Rep. Rob Bishop Rep. Marsha Blackburn Rep. John Boehner Rep. John Boozman Rep. Kevin Brady Rep. Paul Broun Rep. Eric Cantor Rep. Michael Conoway Rep. Geoff Davis Rep. Lincoln Davis Rep. Mary Fallin Rep. John Fleming Rep. Jeff Fortenberry Rep. Virginia Foxx Rep. Trent Franks Rep. Scott Garrett Rep. Phil Gingrey Rep. Louie Gohmert Rep. Gregg Harper Rep. Wally Herger Rep. Pete Hoekstra Rep. Bob Inglis Rep. Walter Jones Rep. Jim Jordan Rep. Steve King Rep. John Kline Rep. Doug Lamborn Rep. Robert Latta Rep. Donald Manzullo Rep. Kevin McCarthy Rep. Michael McCaul Rep. Thaddeus McCotter Rep. Patrick McHenry Rep. Mike McIntyre Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers Rep. Gary Miller Rep. Jeff Miller Rep. Jerry Moran Rep. Sue Myrick Rep. Randy Neugebauer Rep. Pete Olson Rep. Mike Pence Rep. Joe Pitts Rep. Ted Poe Rep. Tom Price Rep. Phil Roe Rep. Jean Schmidt Rep. Heath Shuler Rep. Adrian Smith Rep. Lamar Smith Rep. Glenn Thompson Rep. Todd Tiahrt Rep. Lynn Westmoreland Rep. Joe Wilson Rep. Frank Wolf http://www.aclj.org/LegislativeAlert/Read.aspx?GUID=7ce96c01-ae89-4993-8e43-764b7d0b878e |
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July 17, 2010 at 3:12 am
Ladonna
I don’t understand why a Christian or any other god believer would even want a National Day of Pray. That is basically saying that you won’t pray unless the government holds your hand. Pathetic. Prayer is supposed to be private communication between oneself and their God. This National Day Pray turns it into something shallow. Having your government tell you when to pray and what to pray for isn’t what prayer is supposed to about. We live in a secular democratic republic which ensures freedom for all. Not a theocracy. What if the government had a National “nobody pray today” Day? Would that be ok to? The government is supposed to be neutral in matters of religion and the National Day of Prayer which instructs its citizens to engage in a religious ritual goes over the line. The evangelicals misinterprets neutrality for hostility. The evangelicals think that if the government isn’t blowing their horns then that is hostile to their religion. Far from it.
July 24, 2010 at 1:07 pm
Ladonna
History and tradition is a horrible argument to uphold an unconstitional law that wasn’t proposed until 1953. This country had a tradition of slavery and segregation as well, but would someone use that as a reason to not abolish it? This reasoning is flawed.