Barry, the federal district court in Washington reached the only conclusion it could:  the court decided it could not step in and stop the prayers scheduled for the Presidential inauguration next week and cannot prevent President-elect Obama from ending his oath with the phrase, “so help me God.”   In a decision issued last night,…

Well, Jay, Americans United won a very significant victory late last week in a case in South Carolina involving license plates.  U.S. District Court Judge Cameron McGowan Currie granted a preliminary injunction against the state continuing to market or actually send out plates with the phrase “I Believe” on them.  Lest anyone doubt what the…

Barry, the First Amendment does not require the government to strip the public arena of references to holidays that the vast majority of Americans observe.   In the Rhode Island case you referred to, the Supreme Court noted that “[i]t would be ironic . . . if the inclusion of a single symbol of a…

Barry, we should not expand federal or state reporting requirements for churches that support or oppose legislation/ initiatives, just as we should not continue the gag rule on political speech from the pulpit.   On a different note, you’ve probably heard about the controversy in Olympia, Washington surrounding a sign from the Freedom From Religion…

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