Town councilman banished from rotation for claiming name of Christ
Posted: October 23, 2008
11:46 pm Eastern
By Bob Unruh
© 2008 WorldNetDaily
 Rev. Hashmel Turner |
Justices on the U.S. Supreme Court are being asked to overturn one
of their former colleagues, Sandra Day O'Connor, who wrote in an
appellate level decision that excluding anyone who prays "in Jesus'
name" from a rotation of officials who open city business meetings is
fair and reasonable.
Attorneys with The Rutherford Institute
have asked the high court to overturn the opinion issued by the 4th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Hashmel Turner, a
Christian who was told he alone of all council members in Fredericksburg, Va., would not be allowed to use the name of his God during the routine meeting prayers.
The appeals court had concluded that such prayers actually were
"government speech" and, therefore, not protected by the First
Amendment. But Rutherford lawyers say the city's attempt to dictate the
content of prayers violates the Establishment Clause of the First
Amendment as well as Turner's free speech and free exercise rights.
That's trouble, the institute said. In fact, the decision "has
already triggered a discriminatory backlash against state-trooper
chaplains in Virginia and … threatens to undermine free speech rights
around the country." …more