A Georgia legislator wants to make it legal for high school football coaches to pray with students.
It comes in response to a situation late last year, when East Coweta High School’s football coach John Small was caught praying along with his team, an act which is illegal since it can be interpreted as religious coercion. District administrators eventually told the Freedom From Religion Foundation that they would put a stop to Small’s actions.
Now, State Sen. Michael Williams has sponsored SB 361, the “Coach Small Religious Protection Act,” so that coaches can pray with their students without punishment. It’s a bill that would be dead on arrival if it passes since it violates the Constitution.
SB 361 notes: … when the context makes clear that the employee is not speaking on behalf of the school, school employees are entitled to robust protections for their religious expression.
It also takes a jab at FFRF: Public schools are being threatened by out-of-state special interest groups who demand that schools adopt inaccurate interpretations of the First Amendment that unlawfully restrict the freedom of students, teachers, and other public school employees to engage in religious expression or otherwise exercise their freedom of religion, leading to a stifling of constitutional rights.
Read the full story at the Friendly Atheist Blog
