State Senate panel advances “right to pray” amendment
A proposed state constitutional amendment that would guarantee the right to pray in public schools and government meetings cleared a Virginia Senate committee this evening, beginning a vigorous debate about the intent and reach of the legislation.
The proposed amendment also would prohibit public schools from compelling a student “to perform or participate in academic assignments or educational presentations that violate his religious beliefs.”
The Republican-controlled Senate Privileges and Elections Committee endorsed the bill (Senate Joint Resolution 287) on a party-line vote of 8-6, sending it to the full Senate for a vote.
The sponsors of the proposed amendment said they want to protect the rights of individuals and public bodies to pray on public property and public schools and protect students from religious discrimination. The executive director of Virginia’s American Civil Liberties Union said the amendment is intended to move Virginia toward being “a Christian state” and warned that it would be challenged in court if enacted.
For a constitutional amendment to be enacted, it must pass the General Assembly in consecutive sessions separated by an election, and then be approved by voters in a referendum. That means the Senate and House of Delegates would have to pass the amendment this year and next year to get it on the ballot in November 2014.
The proposed amendment is modeled on a measure that Missouri voters approved overwhelmingly in an August 2012 referendum, said Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County, the lead sponsor of the resolution.
“We’re not promoting coercion,” Stanley said. “We’re recognizing people’s right to pray as they see fit. Prayer is under attack.”
Sen. Bill Carrico, R-Grayson County, is a co-sponsor of the amendment. Carrico has been a long-time advocate of amending Virginia’s constitution to permit prayer on public property, including schools.
The debate in Tuesday’s committee meeting focused largely on a portion of the lengthy amendment dealing with students’ religious beliefs and their academic requirements. The proposed amendment states that students may express their beliefs about religion in written and oral assignments “free from discrimination based on the religious content of their work.” It also prohibits schools from forcing students to participate in assignments that violate their religious beliefs.
Sen. Donald McEachin, D-Henrico County, asked if those provisions could enable a public school student to opt out of studying the Big Bang theory.
“To say that this clause would give any student the ability to say, ‘Doing homework violates my religious beliefs,’ – I think everyone knows better than that,” Stanley said.
Stanley reached for another example, saying the amendment would protect a Muslim student who objected to dissecting a fetal pig for religious reasons.
Deputy Attorney General Wesley Russell said the amendment is consistent with current law but added: “It is quite clear from the number of cases that have come up that current law is in need of clarification.”
Claire Guthrie Gastanaga, the executive director of the ACLU of Virginia, said the state code already protects student-initiated prayer and religious expressions, and that her organization has defended those rights. But the ACLU also has argued that public bodies should not pray in one religion as part of their official business, she added. She argued that portions of the proposed amendment go “well beyond” the First Amendment to U.S. Constitution and Virginia’s Statute of Religious Freedom.
“I can’t tell you how many lawsuits are buried in this language,” Gastanaga said.
Her warning didn’t persuade the committee’s chairman, Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, who said, “Just because there are going to be lawsuits doesn’t mean something’s wrong.”
– Michael Sluss
January 29, 2013 - 8:37 PM
Is Stanley really this ignorant? Muslims can’t eat pork – Allah says nothing about dissection for educational purposes. Doesn’t Christ say you shouldn’t pray in public? Hmmm, he wants to change constitution to allow that which is not blasphemous to allow that which is.
I’ll support this amendment if we remove the tax exemption for churches. Why single them out if we can hear prayers everywhere we go. This issue has become beyond ridiculous, let’s make some money for having to listen to it year after year.
This is a good amendment. and if it passes the GA, then the people will eventually get to vote on it, which is a good thing. We need not try and restrict people’s religious beliefs, regardless of what religion they believe in.
Everyone already has the right to pray. They can’t force you to not pray in your head. There is no war or attack on prayer. In my opinion, symbolic legislation such as this is nothing more than a reach out to the religious right to show them that they are on their side.
I’ll have to agree about the tax exemption for churches. Those 501(c)3 churches are heavily influenced and fall in line to whatever the government tells them or else they lose their tax exempt status. This leads to a lot of infighting.
Belle…lets not sound so Governmental….The right to pray comes FROM GOD, not the morons in office. AND, from the massive amounts of e-mails I`m recieving from around the Country concerning armed militias being formed, somebody better start praying.
Yet more really important stuff they’re doing. Thanks VA Senators and Delegates for doing a great job of prioritizing. Perhaps the VA Republicans haven’t heard Jindal’s suggestion that they stop being the party of stupid.
This is sure-fire to create much-needed jobs.
For Lawyers.
Is Stanley really so dumb as to not realize that his bill would also allow Jews, Muslims, and even Wiccans to pray? I know, he’s misty eyed over the thought of kids gathering around the flagpole & reciting The Lord’s Prayer. Just wait until he sees Muslims unrolling their mats and insisting they be allowed to pray at certain times during the day. His story will be quite different, then.
As some comedian once said – there has been prayer in school as long as there have been pop quizzes. Nobody controls the minds of children wanting to pray to their deity of their religion. Anybody can pray in school if they like. Can they make a production of it? Nope. Thus, the question is – is it about prayer or about pretense?
It’s the amendment. Read the article.
Also, restrictions have been put in place for government meetings. This bill would overturn them and rightfully so.
It is time that for the Constitution to outweigh “opinion” again. If people want to pray, they should be FREE to do so in whatever venue.
Govt. represents all the people not just Christians. Allowing sectarian prayer would only be fair if all religions were allowed to pray. This will never fly.Keep prayer in the church where it belongs. I see know reason to have prayer at all at schools or any other govt. entity.
The state Repubs have gone bonkers.
Rick,
Only the people of Virginia can change the constitution of the state. Legislatore can only propose amendments that can be voted up or down.
Oh they of little faith. “Jesus wept”.
Jack,
You need to sell your views to the voters who approve constitutional amendments.
What is wrong with a legal constitutional process that allows the voters of the state decide whether they want to amend their constitution? It is how gay marriage passed in the state of Washington isn’t it?
“If people want to pray, they should be FREE to do so in whatever venue.”
Which is exactly what they can do now.
Oh, you mean you wan them to be able to pray pout loud and force everybody else to listen to it. I see.
I remember when prayers were offered before high school football games. Oh to see that day again.
There are common grounds for cooperation in sports that unite both teams and there are common heroes that have gone before us in memory that exemplify the spirit of cooperation in the sport that would be well to mention before a game. Would any human object to momentarily focusing on universally positive human patterns of behavior in what seems to be at times a dog eat dog world? This is not a dog eat dog world unless we chose to make it so and we have so much more fun acting like humans instead of beasts.
“AND, from the massive amounts of e-mails I`m recieving from around the Country concerning armed militias being formed, somebody better start praying.”
Yeah boy, applewood, them militias gonna take it all over.
“Would any human object to momentarily focusing on universally positive human patterns of behavior in what seems to be at times a dog eat dog world?” No, not at all, but I object to publicly led prayer of a denominational nature at any government entity event. Why not go for an amendment for a “moment of silence” to allow us humans to momentarily reflect “on universally positive human patterns of behavior in what seems to be at times a dog eat dog world” as we see fit? Because it threatens the point of public displays of piety. No one is being fooled here.
Fern, most humans would do well to more closely emulate dogs.
I think the United States Military Chaplaincy serves as the best model for recognizing the role of pluralism while protecting the individual’s right to free worship. Yes, Sandi military chaplains get paid by the government, $$$$, to perform religious service. As do chaplains in federal prisons and the Veterans Administration. Wow….your right Sandi no one is being fooled here….people have the right to worship even publicly. In the military there are guidelines for public prayers and the use of sensitivity. In the Army it’s up to the individual commander as to the nature of the public prayer. It should be up to the individual school district as to if and how they utilize public prayer.
Blue John: I think it should be like Germany and have tax supported churches, aka an official state church. Just like here in Virginia, even ten years after the signing of the constitution, the Episcopal Church was the official church and everyone paid taxes for it’s maintenance.
I was being sarcastic btw.
Jason, Chaplaincy, whether in the military or a prison is an acknowledgement that even a person not free to leave and seek religious counsel on their own is still allowed to have their spiritual or religious need met is not the same as forcing a public prayer on a captive audience there for another purpose. That is why the rest of us have churches and pastors we can call on as we see fit.
You are correct up to a point Sandi….after that you are wrong. Yet in many senses you are wrong and I’d rather not at this time bring enlightenment to you as I did on the militia issue….