US Constitution

US Constitution

Tomorrow, Liberty Counsel will be in federal District Court in Pensacola representing the Principal of Pace High School, Frank Lay and Athletic Director Robert Freeman as they face criminal contempt charges for a prayer over a meal. Ironically, tomorrow is National Constitution Day. During a luncheon to honor those who contributed toward the school’s athletic Field House, Principal Lay asked Mr. Freeman to offer a blessing for the meal. Students were not present at the time of the blessing. Lay and Freeman thought nothing of the matter, nor did those being honored. But, the ACLU ran to court claiming both men should be held in criminal contempt. Lay and Freeman have a combined 70 years of public school service. If convicted, they face up to $5,000 in fines, six months in jail, and they may lose their retirement benefits. Tomorrow’s trial comes on the heals of the trial of Michelle Winkler, a receptionist, who asked her husband, who is not a school employee, to bless the evening meal at a separate privately-sponsored event held off campus after school to honor noninstructional staff. The ACLU urged the court to hold Winkler in contempt, but after a 7½ hour trial, the judge sided with Liberty Counsel.

Yesterday, Cong. Randy Forbes, the Chair of the bi-partisan Congressional Prayer Caucus, Cong. Mike McIntyre, Co-Chair, and Cong. Jeff Miller, whose district includes Santa Rosa County, along with over 61 members of the Caucus, sent a letter of support to Lay, Freeman and Winkler. The letter states the members “are standing with you in prayer and support as you face your trial on Thursday because of offering a prayer.”Members of Congress voted to authorize a Chaplain to offer a prayer at the first session of Congress. The letter concludes: “The tradition of offering prayer in America has become so interwoven into our nation’s spiritual heritage, that to charge someone criminally for engaging in such an innocent practice, would astonish the men who founded this country on religious freedom.” This case really began over two years ago when the ACLU decided to raise a massive 300 million dollar “war chest” – in addition to their over 100 million dollar per year budget – for “special projects” in targeted states.One of those targeted states is Florida. And one of the ACLU’s objectives in Florida is to wipe out any public expression of the Christian religion in the public square.