There’s an ongoing lawsuit against Louisiana’s Bossier Parish School Board and Superintendent Scott Smith, filed by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, claiming that the District has violated the Constitution in a number of different ways.
For example, Smith mandated that all football players stand during the National Anthem, preventing any form of a peaceful protest. There are Christian prayers recited over the loudspeakers before football games, something the Supreme Court has already ruled is illegal. School events are held at churches, choir performances include (almost exclusively) Christian worship music, Creationism is promoted in the classroom, etc.
Any one of those things would be a problem. This District is doing all of them. That’s why a coalition of six different atheist groups warned Smith about the concerns, and that’s why AU ultimately filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of four families with students in the District.
There were multiple prayer rallies held yesterday, in both Bossier Parish and Webster Parish (the site of another church/state separation problem), with the goal of letting students know their First Amendment rights… which is a fancy way of saying government officials took part in rallies letting Christians know when pushing their faith on everyone else is okay.
Here’s the incredible thing: Earlier this morning, Congressman Mike Johnson and Attorney General Jeff Landry (both Republicans) appeared on 101.7 / 710 KEEL to discuss the rallies. Their aim was to reiterate the message about students’ religious freedoms because those damn atheists want to keep you down.
Instead, they inadvertently endorsed AU’s case for the listening audience.
Here’s what Landry and Johnson said was perfectly legal: Students praying before a test, students leading prayer, Religious clubs forming on campus. What’s not legal? Teachers leading prayers in classrooms, priests leading prayers at graduation, etc. A student also couldn’t be invited to pray at graduation in advance, but if, say, the valedictorian ∑as invited to speak and she decided to pray on stage, the district couldn’t be sued over that.
All of that is precisely what church/state separation groups have always said. The Republicans insisted atheists were trying to confuse everybody, but it looks like everyone is on the same page after all!
Read the full story at the Friendly Atheist Blog
