Federal judge rules Day of Prayer unconstitutional

AP via SFGate ^ | 4/15/10

[SmithL]

Madison, Wis. (AP) -- A federal judge in Wisconsin says the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb issued the ruling Thursday in a lawsuit filed by the Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation.

[gwilhelm56]

OH ... MadiSTAN!! Never mind.

[Clock King]

Liberal white females - the source of most problems.

[mojitojoe]

I agree.

[Thunder90]

Obama has got to like this. He has dodged a political bullet. Now he can say that the judiciary has prevented him from doing the Day of Prayer (even though 0 did not want to anyway).

[Nickname]

Yes and yes and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the 4th go.... From acquaintances, I’m aware that there are many people in powerful positions who frown upon recognizing milestones in a nation’s history. It’s a Globalist thing.

[Hodar]

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 peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Did this Federal Judge got to Law School, has she ever read the US Constitution? There is no requirement to pray, nor is there any direction as to what religion you must follow.

[Saundra Duffy]

I find this amusing. Jews, Catholics, Mormons, and others, were excluded as per Mrs. focus-on-the-family which I thought was unconstitutional but there was nothing I could do about it. Like I said, I find this amusing.

[driftdiver]

Its freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion

[ScottinVA]

Let’s just form two countries and get it over with...

Frankly I'm beginning to think that's the only solution. The political schism in this country seems irreconcilable.

[Road Warrior ‘04]

Nominated by Jimmy Carter on July 21, 1979...

Whodda thunk it? /s

[Tex-Con-Man]

I never went to law school, nor took an online course, but even I can figure out that a “national day of prayer” is nowhere near the ballpark of establishing a state religion.

How is it these people are ever taken seriously?

[farlander]

Oh anything is reconcilable. Through natural extension of politics through other means. Per Von Clausewitz.

[MrB]

As Prof Williams said -

should we continue to attempt to force our worldview on each other through the government,

or should we just peaceably part company.

They don’t want responsibility “forced” on them,
we don’t want collectivism force on us.

Let’s separate, divide the country at the state level,
let people freely emigrate,
and call it amicable.

[a fool in paradise]

How about the in-school “Day of Silence” if you tell them you are going to use it to pray for sinners?

[pillut48]

Wikipedia: National Day of Prayer entry

[a fool in paradise]

Whom were we giving Thanks to on Thanksgiving Day, after all, if not the God of the Christians?

Thank you FDR for Social Security checks.

Thank you LBJ for Medicare checks.

Thank you OHB for Socialized medicine.

Thank you Karl Marx, leader of us all for showing us the error of our ways.

[ilovesarah2012]

We need to seriously consider doing that. This country is pretty evenly divided. We just need to have Northern America and Southern America. The south keeps the military. The north keeps the Dept. of Peace.

[Cicero]

Jimmy Carter appointee. I'm afraid there are a ton of judges sitting at their benches out there who wouldn't know what the Constitution was if it bit them on the *ss.

[MrB]

What is THAT?
My pattern recognition circuitry is shorting out.

[Lucky9teen]

In a small way, I can kind of see her point:

Government involvement in prayer is constitutional only as long as it does not call for religious action, which the prayer day does, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb wrote in her ruling.

"It goes beyond mere 'acknowledgment' of religion because its sole purpose is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function in this context," Crabb wrote. "In this instance, the government has taken sides on a matter that must be left to individual conscience."

But then again...

"It is unfortunate that this court failed to understand that a day set aside for prayer for the country represents a time-honored tradition that embraces the First Amendment, not violates it," ACLJ Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow said in a statement.