Posted on 06/04/2009 12:52:37 PM PDT by greatdefender
Santa Rosa County, FL - Nearly 400 graduating seniors at Pace High School stood up in protest against the ACLU and recited the Lord’s Prayer during their graduation ceremony on Saturday. Many of the students also painted crosses on their graduation caps to make a statement of faith. This event follows a lawsuit the ACLU filed against the Santa Rosa County School District, claiming some of the teachers and administration endorsed religion. Liberty Counsel represents Pace High School Principal Frank Lay and school teacher Michelle Winkler.
The graduation prayer protest by the students was preceded by a lawsuit filed six months ago by the ACLU. The school district entered into a consent decree, which essentially bans all Santa Rosa County School District employees from engaging in prayer or religious activities. The ACLU alleges that during a dinner event held at Pace High School, Principal Lay asked the athletic director to bless the meal. In another incident, the ACLU alleges that Michelle Winkler’s husband, who is not a school board employee, offered prayer at an awards ceremony. Leading up to the graduation ceremony, the ACLU demanded the school to censor students from offering prayers or saying anything religious. The ACLU then charged Principal Lay and Ms. Winkler with contempt of court.
The students at Pace High School were furious with the ACLU hijacking their free speech rights and decided to take a stand at graduation. As soon as Principal Lay asked everyone to be seated at the ceremony, the graduating class remained standing and recited the Lord’s Prayer. The ACLU has not taken any legal action yet but has stated that something should have been done to stop the prayer.
Mathew D. Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, commented: “Neither students nor teachers shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate. The students at Pace High School refused to remain silent and were not about to be bullied by the ACLU. We have decided to represent faculty, staff and students of Pace High School, because the ACLU is clearly violating their First Amendment rights. Schools are not religion-free zones, and any attempt to make them so is unconstitutional.”
That’s why there needs to be student activists of this kind. These kids took a page from BHO’s community activist playbook. Can someone come up with a Saul Alinsky Manual for Christian Radicals?
***Three cheers for the students. God Bless them****
A much better group than those who graduated Notre dame screaming “Yes, we can.”
Youth rebellion is as natural as mother’s milk. Someday I hope they rebel en mass to the liberal policies and education system that has used and fed them BS all their lives.
You betcha! In the very near future you will see Muslim students asserting themselves with a right to pray. The left won’t know what to do about that, because they have only had to confront Christians (whom they despise) on this point.
Kids are a lot smarter than the ACLU or the administration. The answer for the administration is to lay down and die while students stand up.
LOL. They have to wait for his holiness the high teleprompter to get back from his buttsmoochapalooza with his muzzy homeboys.
OOORAH!
Eighteen year olds displaying backbone!
Others need to take notice.
Stand tall in your beliefs.
The left is anti-Christian, not anti-”religion”.
So, they wouldn’t raise much fuss when the Islamists demand rights of expression. In fact, they’ll probably blame the Christians for it.
The Lord is their shepard, they shall not want....
Wearing a big grin here!
The aclu gets money from the gov to bring cases to the court on behalf of the people.
The aclu will parish if that money is no longer pyed to them.
AMEN! AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!
YEA GOD!
YEA STUDENTS!
Was one of yours there?
Prayerful ping.
...This is just great!!!!
Woo-hoo ping!
You are so right about this area of the country. The panhandle of Florida is the south and I just don’t feel like we southerners are going to put up with this s. Take a drive through south Alabama and the Florida panhandle and you can feeeeeel the independence, especially if you hit some of the backroads. And I don’t mean in a racist way for those of you who automatically are thinking KKK.
Anyone who thinks this is a violation of the 1st Amendment is a blithering imbecile.
You beat me to it! Yes, that is some HOPE I can believe in!!
Just how the hell did the aclu get the authority to charge anyone with anything.
Should we or should we not hope that any of them are headed for Notre Dame?
“And a child shall lead you.”
After this, NO ONE has any excuse for not fighting for our liberties.
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