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School Prayer Bill Wins House Panel Approval
April 10, 2010
A once controversial school prayer bill won unanimous support Thursday from a House panel after a tweak to the legislation severely blunted its reach.
“This bill is now a protection of school speech,” said Rep. Greg Evers, R-Baker, a co-sponsor of the legislation.
An earlier version of the bill had barred district school boards from discouraging the delivery of an “inspirational message” at a school sponsored activity. The language spurred outcry from the Anti-Defamation League and other groups who said Jewish students or members of other minority religions might feel uncomfortable if surrounded by largely Christian students who organized prayers at school events.
But an amendment to the legislation crossed out half of the bill that dealt with an “inspirational message,” and simply leaving the second part of the bill, which says schools are prohibited from entering any agreement that infringes or waives the rights or freedoms afforded to instructional personnel, school staff, or students by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
“This bill is about so much more than school prayer or inspirational speech, it’s about protecting Floridians’ First Amendment rights,” said Evers. “At a time when our freedoms are constantly threatened, it is of vital importance that we pass legislation that preserves our freedoms and values at all cost. If we can stop what happened to Mary Allen and the good folks at Pace High School from happening anywhere elsewhere in Florida, I feel that we have done something important and good.”
“We deeply appreciate the support of the Florida House and, especially of Representatives Evers and Drake in making sure that outside liberal forces with their own agendas do not quash the First Amendment self-expression rights of students and teachers,” said Mary Allen, a freshman at Florida State University who in May 2009 was the president of the Pace High School student body.
Anti-Defamation League officials put out a statement saying the amendment eliminated their concerns with the bill and that they would be dropping their opposition to the measure.
“Throughout its advocacy against HB 31, the Anti-Defamation League’s primary concern has been the first paragraph of the bill which would have authorized sectarian prayers, invocations, or other inspirational messages by students at so-called noncompulsory high-school activities,” the statement said. “Under the compromise passed by the Policy Council, this portion of the bill was deleted. As such, ADL will discontinue its opposition to HB 31 and we urge our constituents to do the same.”
The American Civil Liberties Union is still in opposition to the bill, and ACLU lobbyist Courtenay Strickland told lawmakers that the measure, if passed, could bankrupt school boards with litigation costs because of different legal interpretations of the bill.
“There could be huge costs involved with this legislation,” she told lawmakers.
Comments
12 Responses to “School Prayer Bill Wins House Panel Approval”
The author, Ayn Rand taught us about and identified the “anti-concept” used by dictatorial politics (and dictators). She was born and raised in Communist Russia and moved to the USA. Her book, “Atlas Shrugged” is, with the Bible, the most read book by CEOs. When the Christian Right associates the restriction of religious practice in our schools suppression of free speech. THAT is an anti-concept. If we were able to speak out freely about ANYTHING at ANY time what does that create? Chaos is what it creates. That is why we generally limit really free speech to the press, private conversations and to public forums (like this one). Don’t be fooled by the anti-concept. It’s a power-grabbing and mind-controlling technique that is despicable and dangerous. Read Ayn Rand’s works.
Scott Miller
Religion is part of the human experience, although some of us believe it is an imposed delusion to manipulate people for control and results in fear-induced restrictions on thinking and perception. Let’s think basic here: Whatever your religious upbringing, we need to understand what we are DOING when we have group-led prayer. We are expressing a hope for something (whether a God hears it or not). But we are also expressing an implied FEAR of something else. Why not let students, individually, express these things WITHOUT the religious overtones or framework. It’s not so much about freedom of speech as it is about influence on young minds. We have freedom of religion in this country, but how can you call it freedom of religion and then ignore the power of peer influence. This Christian Right power-grabbing movement will disrupt and destroy the effectiveness of basic education in our country and polarize us, if we let it. Get real: ALL institutions limit free speech within their working space and time frame. Get yourself a soap box and say whatever you want on the streets. In schools religion should be treated ONLY as an academic subject, NOT practiced. Freedom of speech does not permit yelling “fire” in a crowded theater, nor should it allow the demeaning of students by implying, via religion, that they are “sinners” when born.
“Thinker”
Don’t change my argument. This is not an issue of spending tax dollars on any thing. This is an issue of recognizing that the employees of the government have rights. Those rights include the right to speak about their religion as long as they are not forcing people to comply with it. Christians have to suck it up every day while atheists, Islamist’s, Buddhist’s and virtually any religion other than Christianity is actively included in school curricula across the nation.
Freedom of speech by definition means the freedom to utter words, not silently think happy thoughts about God. That also means that we don’t have to utter those words in some secluded dark room. Freedom of speech means that we have the right to be loud and proud about our convictions.
When I talk about weakness, I am talking about the undermining of personal convictions that is the result of political correctness. You are promoting a society that allows speech to be silenced simply because it is unpopular. That may be a nice thing for you, but remember the pendulum swings both ways and one day you may be on the wrong side of the fence spewing the unpopular speech. If you have made the suppression of unpopular speech the norm, then who will be able or willing to defend your right to be offensive?
Scott Miller: You’re a little off target. It’s not so much about feelings as it is about the proper use of tax money and tax-paid teachers’ time. Educational tax money comes from people of all faiths and those who do just fine without faith, etc., etc. Let Christians “suck it up” and keep their prayers silent or in church.. We are not a country of mob rule.
Consider that those who REALLY have to “suck it up” are citizens of North Korea. There is room for sensitivity in our culture without it being “weak” (right girls?)
It is simply baffling how we got to a place where a provision of law meant to protect our ability to practice religion became twisted into something that is most often used to prevent the practice of religion.
I am sure that most defenders of the liberal faith are rolling their eyes because I am just another ignorant redneck who does not understand the subtleties these complex issues. Some of them probably feel sorry for me. They are sure that I must not understand their point of view because if I were smart enough to understand it, I would share it.
The fact is I do completely understand their position. The liberal mantra requires us to make it illegal to hurt peoples feelings or make them feel uncomfortable. The reality is that we need a whole lot less sensitivity training and a whole lot more suck it up training.
By institutionalizing hypersensitivity, we are weakening our culture. The fact is that it is a lot easier and more productive to develop the self esteem needed to let “offensive” comments roll off our backs than it is to throw a fit every time something different happens. Isn’t that really what “tolerance” is all about?
i hope we are able to pray in school pretty soon thanks Casey
You might be cheering now, but how will you feel when they start teaching Islam at school? Are you going to be ok with that at your football games , praying to Allah before the game over the intercom?
If children are raised in faith and values are properly instilled in them in their pre-
school years, fear not for prayer will ALWAYS be in public schools. Parents should teach their children their values and beliefs before the world has a chance
to teach them theirs. From birth to the beginning of school is the only time parents have total control over things and values taught their kids. After they start to school, they are bombarded with every idea and belief one can imagine.
Sadly, too many ;parents allow “babysitters” to instill their values and not those of the parents into their children.
Another thing we do not have to fear is that Christanity has been and will always be attacked but will never be distroyed. Liberal atheist and Darwinest seek to im -pose their ideas and beliefs on our young saying their beliefs have nothing to
do with religion. Any religious belief asks these questions. “Who am I?” “Why
am I here?” ” Where did I come from?” “Where am I going?” “What do I believe?”
Compare these questions to Christanity, Jewish, or any other “idea” and you
come up with religion. So, how can ANY theory of creation be taught in school
by the standard set by the court.
I find it amusing that evolutionest proclaim God as the “creator” each time they use the word “universe”. Uni meaning one and verse meaning statement or
sentence. Read Genesis ch. 1, …..and God said let there be…….
Pretty soon you won’t have to worry about whether or not you can pray in school. There will be no longer be public schools to concern yourselves with. Legislators are too concerned about this issue to worry about what is right for public education. The old saying, “Pick your battles” has just taken on a whole new meaning as far as I am concerned.
It doesn’t matter if it’s legal or not, it’s unAmerican to use tax supported schools for religious practice. Non believers see your praying and mystical beliefs as less than sane behavior and thinking
If you are caring people and MUST behave like this in public schools, then with students of other faiths enrolled, you are obligated by ethical considerations to provide THEM with similar leadership (Jewish prayers, Buddhist dharma teachings, etc.).
If you don’t see this as an obvious projection of this (lower court) decision then I fear for the future of this country. Religious zealots are attempting to take power and return us to iron age cosmology and further polarize the world. Will we allow this?
let us all pray that what keeping our troops safe over seas keeping us safe in our homeland satan is busy he is never asleep….pray when thing is good and pray when thing are bad…..
good job, rep evers!..the ACLU is virtualy ALWAYS apposed to the will of the common masses…..instead, they cater to the will of the MINORITY FEW….(they are comprised of liberal bullies!)….ms strickland is trying to intimidate popular opinion by using the threat of “huge” financial repercussions…all protection of our FIRST AMMENDMENT RIGHT will be worth the cost!