Sunday, June 05, 2011

Federal Judge Prohibits Prayer at Texas Graduation Ceremony

On pain of imprisonment! Atheism is compulsory, apparently. The judge is a Clinton appointee.
A federal judge has ordered a Texas school district to prohibit public prayer at a high school graduation ceremony.

Chief U.S. District Judge Fred Biery’s order against the Medina Valley Independent School District also forbids students from using specific religious words including “prayer” and “amen.”

The ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed by Christa and Danny Schultz. Their son is among those scheduled to participate in Saturday’s graduation ceremony. The judge declared that the Schultz family and their son would “suffer irreparable harm” if anyone prayed at the ceremony. [What proof is there of that improbable assertion?]

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said the school district is in the process of appealing the ruling, and his office has agreed to file a brief in their support.

“I’ve never seen such a restriction on speech issued by a court or the government,” Abbott told Fox News Radio. “It seems like a trampling of the First Amendment rather than protecting the First Amendment.”

Judge Biery’s ruling banned students and other speakers from using religious language in their speeches. Among the banned words or phrases are: “join in prayer,” “bow their heads,” “amen,” and “prayer.”

Should a student violate the order, school district officials could find themselves in legal trouble. Judge Biery ordered that his ruling be “enforced by incarceration or other sanctions for contempt of Court if not obeyed by District official (sic) and their agents.”

The Texas attorney general called the ruling unconstitutional and a blatant attack from those who do not believe in God -- “attempts by atheists and agnostics to use courts to eliminate from the public landscape any and all references to God whatsoever.”

Source

This will almost certainly be overturned in a higher court.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

"This will almost certainly be overturned in a higher court."

You are a day late and a dollar short. It was already overturned by a federal appeals court

Anonymous said...

Try this:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/06/03/texas-senator-blasts-judges-decision-to-forbid-public-prayer-at-high-school/?test=latestnews

Anonymous said...

Yes, it's been overturned by the Appeals Court. At least someone in Mexas has some brains. Hopefully, the pro-atheist judge will be unseated. Or, hanged.

Anonymous said...

I find it sickening that people advocate violence against public officials. Do you hear me anon202? This is a case were the system worked. Is this not good enough for you?

Anonymous said...

Oh come now Anon 2:19, a bit of hyperbole never hurt anyone.

Anonymous said...

Overturned by 5th Circuit - in time for graduation last night

Anonymous said...

Well the judge should have a right to state his legal opinion. But did the judge make an illegal threat?

Maybe he really believed that the police would arrest people if they prayed, so then he was just speaking his honest belief.

What we really need is a way to make it so that police are afraid to carry out orders like this. For example, only hire cops who voluntarily waive qualified immunity for their entire future employment. Then the police unions can make deals with the city that allows them to stay employed even when they disobey the command to arrest someone.

Anon 2:02 said...

Anonymous 2:19 said...
"I find it sickening that people advocate violence against public officials. Do you hear me anon202? This is a case were the system worked. Is this not good enough for you?"

No, actually it's not good enough. If we went back to a time when incompetent and corrupt public officials were hanged, (and in public) we wouldn't be in the terrible mess we're in. And just to add some fun to the festivities, we could hang a few liberals at the same time.

Anonymous said...

Anon 11:09, have you heard of Thorazine? It may help you.

Anonymous said...

"And just to add some fun to the festivities, we could hang a few liberals at the same time."

Hey, we liberals have guns too. Try it, just try it.

Anonymous said...

Hey Anon 1:26, I'm just not feelin' the love. Libs are the most peaceful, tolerant and just all around superior beings or so they tell us. I didn't think a lib would allow a weapon of chemical combustion in his presence, much less know how to use one. Guess libs aren't so special after all. I'm soooo disappointed in you.

Anonymous said...

Funny how they don't seem able to understand that, if the free speech of one person is trampled upon, the free speech of ALL people suffers "irreparable harm."

Spurwing Plover said...

A totaly unconstitutional ruling from a leftists activists judge who should be removed from the bench and his paycheck cut back by 75%