Scott Hartnell's Mane Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 ACLU and NC Residents File Lawsuit to End Unconstitutional Prayers at Rowan County Meetings SALISBURY, N.C. – The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation (ACLU-NCLF) filed a federal lawsuit yesterday on behalf of three Rowan County citizens, demanding that the Rowan County Board of Commissioners stop its unconstitutional practice of opening government meetings with prayers that are specific to one religion. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, details how more than 95 percent of board meetings since 2007 have opened with prayers specific to one religion, Christianity. "I want my local government to be open and welcoming to people of all beliefs," said Nan Lund, a Salisbury resident who is one of three plaintiffs named in the lawsuit. "But when officials begin a public meeting with prayers that are specific to only one religious viewpoint, I feel unwelcome, excluded, and compelled to participate." The commissioners, who deliver the prayers themselves, routinely call on Jesus Christ and refer to other sectarian beliefs during invocations. Opening invocations have declared that "there is only one way to salvation, and that is Jesus Christ," as well as given thanks for the "virgin birth," the "cross at Calvary," and "the resurrection." "All citizens of Rowan County deserve to be treated equally by their government, regardless of their personal religious beliefs," said Chris Brook, legal director of ACLU-NCLF. "By refusing to obey the law and insisting on opening meetings with prayers that are specific to only one religion, the Rowan County commissioners have created an environment where citizens of different beliefs are made to feel alienated. In order to make local government more welcoming to citizens of all beliefs, officials must end this unconstitutional practice at once." A 2011 ruling by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in another ACLU case, Joyner, et al. v. Forsyth County Board of Commissioners, made clear that if local boards decide to open meeting with invocations, the prayers may not indicate a preference for one faith. After the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review that ruling, more than 20 local governments throughout North Carolina changed their opening invocations in order to comply with the law. "Matters of faith are deeply personal. When the government appears to be taking the side of one religion over others, it gives rise to the very type of religious divisiveness and exclusion that the First Amendment seeks to avoid," said Heather L. Weaver, staff attorney for the ACLU's Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. The lawsuit, Lund, et al. v. Rowan County, can be found at acluofnc.org. In addition to Brook and Weaver, the plaintiffs are represented by Daniel Mach, director of the ACLU's Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. Right here in my own backyard...maybe there is hope that my county will drag itself out of the Dark Ages after all. You should either have a prayer session for all faiths or you should have no prayer session at all. Equality and Fairness should always triumph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aladeen Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 I think before each meeting the should sacrifice a goat to the dark lord! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Hartnell's Mane Posted March 13, 2013 Author Share Posted March 13, 2013 I think before each meeting the should sacrifice a goat to the dark lord! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heretic Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 I agree and believe they should exercise their 2nd amendment instead and everyone who wants to attend must bring a gun with them and get together and defend themselves from the enemy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Next step of human evolution...moving beyond religions... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Hartnell's Mane Posted March 13, 2013 Author Share Posted March 13, 2013 I agree and believe they should exercise their 2nd amendment instead and everyone who wants to attend must bring a gun with them and get together and defend themselves from the enemy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aladeen Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Literally LOLed at this one. They also need to perform a rain dance, a Wiccan cleansing ritual, recite the Viking's Prayer and allow time for zen meditation. If you're going to go all in on this...hell..go ALL the way in...bring back the Mithras sacrifice...the Aztec sacrifice...then there needs to be a toke session for the Rastafarians and a muezzin leading the Muslim prayer. I'm fascinated and riveted to this story and I'm genuinely curious to see how it all turns out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Hartnell's Mane Posted March 13, 2013 Author Share Posted March 13, 2013 Next step of human evolution...moving beyond religions... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Ambien Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 They should open each meeting by sacrificing a hundred spliffs and hotboxing the meeting room. The McDonalds outside unfortunately winds up being raided like Black Friday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Hartnell's Mane Posted March 13, 2013 Author Share Posted March 13, 2013 They should open each meeting by sacrificing a hundred spliffs and hotboxing the meeting room. The McDonalds outside unfortunately winds up being raided like Black Friday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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