Ah, then, we can agree, presumably, that there's nothing at all to object to regarding today's prayer rally.
If you read what he said he had NO PROBLEM disregarding the separation of church and state as laid down by the Supreme Court in their ruling on school prayer. He didn't say that all that long ago- but clearly, instead of reading what was in my post, you just made something else up.
As to the school prayer issue you brought up, I see that as a new and separate issue. School prayer has been outlawed in the US the early '60s. Wow, almost 50 yrs - someone younger than 55 or so has never the horror of hearing a prayer offered in school. I guess I don't see it as an issue relevant to today.
I tried to find some information about Perry and school prayer and could only come up with two things:
One was a judicial ruling that banned anyone from offering an invocation or benediction at a high school graduation. Perry criticized that ruling, noting that the Supreme Court has ruled Congress itself can open with
an invocation and prayer, which it does. I fail to see the horror of a high school graduation invocation.
The other thing involved prayers offered at an assembly held at a school immediately after 911. The 911 attack was the subject of the assembly. Again, I fail to see the horror involved in someone praying in response to something like that.
Frankly, I find it alarming that people would sue to prevent a private prayer rally like todays or that government officials would try to ban prayer or religious language from funerals in a veteran's cemetary:
Houston National Cemetery defies judge, bans “God bless you” from veterans’ funerals
posted by Rob Kerby, Senior Editor | 12:22pm Thursday June 30, 2011
Three national veterans groups have filed a 26-page complaint in federal court that officials at the Houston National Cemetery have defied the court’s order to quit censoring prayer and banning the words “God” and “Jesus” from funeral services.
Despite a Memorial Day injunction by federal judge Lynn Hughes, local veterans say the Department of Veterans Affairs has continued to censor their prayers, eulogies and traditional ceremonies in violation of their First Amendment guarantees that the government will not impede their free exercise of religion or their freedom of speech.
The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the National Memorial Ladies cited “religious hostility” at the cemetery, charging that the cemetery’s director, Arleen Ocasio, bans religious phrases and requires prayers to be submitted in advance for her approval. She has also turned the cemetery chapel into a meeting room, they said.
“We were told we could no longer say “God bless you” and “God bless your family,” said Marilyn Koepp, a volunteer with the National Memorial Ladies. “How did I feel? I probably shouldn’t say how I felt because it was absolutely apalling that this woman would come aboard and tell us we can not say ‘God bless you.’ What is happening to our country?”
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