Posted on 10/11/2005 5:23:40 PM PDT by wagglebee
A practicing witch who sought to have her prayers heard at government meetings in a Richmond, Va., suburb had no magic before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Justices rejected an appeal by Cyndi Simpson, a Wiccan priestess and member of the Broom Riders Association, who wanted to offer a generalized prayer to the "creator of the universe" in Chesterfield County, Va.
"I wasn't going to talk about the goddess," Simpson said previous to today's decision. "I was going to call the elements, maybe offer up an invocation to the highest being."
Simpson had argued that Christians and members of other faiths were allowed to provide invocations before county meetings, but she was being excluded because of her pagan, polytheistic beliefs.
Wicca is regarded as a natural religion, "grounded in the earth." Followers of its many different forms generally believe all living things, as well as stars, planets and rocks, have a spirit.
American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Rebecca Glenberg said the county "issues invitations to deliver prayers to all Christian, Muslim and Jewish religious leaders in the country. It refuses to issue invitations to Native Americans, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Wiccans or members of any other religion."
Some 235 congregations, the bulk of which are Christian, were on the county's approved list in 2003. The Islamic Center of Virginia is also on the list, and its imams have been involved in giving prayers occasionally.
In a letter of explanation to Simpson, County Attorney Steven L. Micas said, "Chesterfield's nonsectarian invocations are traditionally made to a divinity that is consistent with the Judeo-Christian tradition."
With help from the ACLU, which ironically often opposes most expressions of prayer at government events, Simpson sued and initially won before a federal court judge who ruled the county board violated Simpson's constitutional right of equal and free expression of her religious beliefs.
But at the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, she lost when jurists found Chesterfield County had amended its policy and directed clerics to avoid any mention of Jesus Christ.
The legal precedent covering most government assemblies is the 1983 Supreme Court case of Marsh v. Chambers, where justices noted:
In light of the unambiguous and unbroken history of more than 200 years, there can be no doubt that the practice of opening legislative sessions with prayer has become part of the fabric of our society. To invoke Divine guidance on a public body entrusted with making the laws is not, in these circumstances, an "establishment" of religion or a step toward establishment; it is simply a tolerable acknowledgment of beliefs widely held among the people of this country. As Justice Douglas observed, "[w]e are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being."
Get thee to a nunnery!
Satan got what he wanted here.
MM
Don't tell me, let me guess... You received some phony baloney from some angel named Morooni?
If you get enough converts you can take over a whole state! I suggest Massachusetts...
;-)
Sympathy for the devil... not on my watch lol. She chose her religion and no one is stopping her from practicing it. If she wants to serve evil, that's her choice. We don't have to be dragged into it. We may be spiritually offended by her; but, nobody is stopping her from being a witch.. though someone might witness the truth to her. I don't read where anyone tied a gag on the windbag. Let her stand out there and pray till satan comes for her. In the meantime, we'll all pray that Christ destroys her priesthood and frees her followers.. I'm sure she'll want some laws passed over free will issues then.
An interesting story which is part of my video collection - flawed as it may be, still interesting and somewhat fun.
Thanks.
Without historical context, it's meaningless.
Only congress is congress, no other branch, arm, or entity is addressed.
The concept of enumerated powers implies that the legislature may exercise only those powers that are stated in the Constitution, limited, of course, by the Bill of Rights and the other protections found in the Constitutional text.
The judiciary does not make law, it can only rule on the constitutionality of a law.
Anything outside those bounds is a perversion of law and unconstitutional on its face.
That quote is from the article.
My suggestion was that the Board allow the moonbat to give her spiel, but that they all exercise their right to leave the room during the seance.
How'd you guess? It was a direct transmission from the ether that led me to some sheets of galvanized roofing that had markings on them that when I stood on my head, squinted real hard and tripled my doses of meds revealed the essence of all things and the secrets of the universe. As a revealed believer of Morooni, it is my sacred duty to bring this enlightenment to the world. And for a modest donation of just twenty five dollars, thats 25 dollars American, 43 dollars Canadian, I will send you these revealed secrets. /parody
What is sad is that I feel the need to put an end parody tag at the end of the above to avoid possible legal ramifications for myself and FReeRepublic. Nobody can just joke around anymore without hurting someones feelings or having things misinterpreted to mean something that was not intended.
I remember pet rocks. What a money maker that was for someone.
Sorry, didn't mean to imply anything. I was just using the quote to post the extraneous information regarding some Native Americans who also believe the same thing. Personally, I can see living things having some spark (I don't know if I would call it spirit) to them like dogs or cats, but inanimate objects is another thing altogether.
This woman should worship her own B.O. ... it's stronger than any God or Goddess of 'wicca' she can conjure up.
Here, I have a better idea:
When any moron tries to make a Federal case out of whatever the state or local govt does wrt to how they run meetings, the Federal judge tosses the case out saying "Unless they are establishing a religion by requiring worship, That's a matter for the state to decide."
Get over it, hag.
What 'freedom in religion' do we have left if people can run meetings the way they want to? Why are you letting a Wiccan dictate to a government body what they can and cant do? that's imposing a religious test on the Government.
"isn't right for the government to tell her she isn't allowed to pray at these meetings, ..." ... Of course she's allowed to pray, her own dime, her own time, quietly.
She doesnt have a 'right' to take up Govt meeting time to make a specific prayer.
And it isnt right for her to tell the government *they* aren't allowed to pray at these meetings in their way.
If they want to pick their own invocation makers, let them.
"As much as people hate to admit it her version of God is just as plausible as anyone elses."
Your statement is a foolish a lamentable statement of moral and cultural relativism.
As much as people hate to admit it, relativism is the cop-out of the wilfully ignorant. Some things are true and some things are false; to pretend things are equally true and false is to dishonor the true and wrongfully honor the false.
And when you and your followers finally take over Massachusetts, PLEASE evict the Swimmer....
Nobody can just joke around anymore..
One would hope that on these hallowed boards people have enough discernment to tell the difference... But then again, I do read the posts...
sheets of galvanized roofing that had markings on them
Now then, were these sheets of galvanized roofing brandy-new or rusty? (Seems to me that the pristine-ness or decreptitude of them would influence the legibility and thus the rendering of the engraved markings...)
And for a modest donation of just twenty five dollars, thats 25 dollars American, 43 dollars Canadian,
Now, maybe we should pool our resources... For the same small donation, I offer a Special Blessed Rag guaranteed to get the demons off your dishes...
Inanimate thingies are, well, just as dumb as.... rocks.
Unfortunately, I have met some humans who were REALLY close to that..
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