{"id":281,"date":"2010-05-06T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-05-06T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lynnvsekulow\/2010\/05\/legal-cloud-does-not-stop-nati.html"},"modified":"2010-05-06T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2010-05-06T09:00:00","slug":"legal-cloud-does-not-stop-nati","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2010\/05\/legal-cloud-does-not-stop-nati.html","title":{"rendered":"Legal Cloud Does Not Stop National Day of Prayer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Barry, <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/p>\n

<\/span>Even with a flawed federal district court decision declaring the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional, prayer events are taking place coast-to-coast on this National Day of Prayer – as they should.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/p>\n

<\/span>With this year’s event got more attention because of the court decision, I remain confident that the government’s appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals to the Seventh Circuit – and if necessary, to the U.S. Supreme Court, will succeed.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/p>\n

<\/span>In fact, as we prepare our amicus brief to file in support of the government’s appeal, we will be representing members of Congress (the number is at 50 and climbing) and concerned Americans (more than 65,000 so far) who understand that the National Day of Prayer is a voluntary, constitutional event.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And, like presidents before him, President Obama issued his proclamation<\/a> recognizing this National Day of Prayer.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/p>\n

<\/span>Here’s an excerpt of President Obama’s proclamation:<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Throughout our history, whether in times of great joy and thanksgiving, or in times of great challenge and uncertainty, Americans have turned to prayer.  <\/span>In prayer, we have expressed gratitude and humility, sought guidance and forgiveness, and received inspiration and assistance, both in good times and in bad.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

On this day, let us give thanks for the many blessings God has bestowed upon our Nation.  <\/span>Let us rejoice for the blessing of freedom both to believe and to live our beliefs, and for the many other freedoms and opportunities that bring us together as one Nation.  <\/span>Let us ask for wisdom, compassion, and discernment of justice as we address the great challenges of our time.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

We are blessed to live in a Nation that counts freedom of conscience and free exercise of religion among its most fundamental principles, thereby ensuring that all people of goodwill may hold and practice their beliefs according to the dictates of their consciences.  <\/span>Prayer has been a sustaining way for many Americans of diverse faiths to express their most cherished beliefs, and thus we have long deemed it fitting and proper to publicly recognize the importance of prayer on this day across the Nation.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Barry, there may be a temporary legal cloud hanging over the National Day of Prayer, but like most clouds, it will dissipate – and soon disappear – thanks to the appeals process now underway.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/span> <\/p>\n

To subscribe to “Lynn v. Sekulow” click <\/font>here<\/font><\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/font><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/font><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/span> <\/font><\/span> <\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Barry,   Even with a flawed federal district court decision declaring the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional, prayer events are taking place coast-to-coast on this National Day of Prayer – as they should.   With this year’s event got more attention because of the court decision, I remain confident that the government’s appeal to the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":163,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,94,123],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-courts","category-national-day-of-prayer","category-president-barack-obama"],"yoast_head":"\nLegal Cloud Does Not Stop National Day of Prayer - Lynn v. 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Jay Sekulow has also served as a faculty member for the Office of Legal Education at the United States Department of Justice.  As a member of the faculty he instructed Assistant United States Attorneys and investigators in the First Amendment issues associated with prosecution of obscenity. An accomplished and respected judicial advocate, Sekulow has presented oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in numerous cases in defense of constitutional freedoms. Several landmark cases argued by Sekulow before the U.S. Supreme Court have become part of the legal landscape in the area of religious liberty litigation.  In the Mergens case, Sekulow cleared the way for public school students to form Bible clubs and religious organizations on their school campuses.  In the Lamb's Chapel case, Sekulow defended the free speech rights of religious groups, ensuring that they be treated equally with respect to the use of public facilities.  And, most recently, in McConnell v. FEC, Sekulow ensured that the constitutional rights of young people remain protected with a unanimous decision by the high court guaranteeing that minors can participate in political campaigns. A nationally recognized and respected defender of religious freedom, Sekulow has assembled one of the most prestigious law firms in the nation.  Founded in 1990, the American Center for Law and Justice focuses in constitutional law.  The ACLJ, under Sekulow's direction, is involved in public interest and public policy issues working to protect religious and constitutional liberties. In 2007, the Chicago Tribune concluded that the ACLJ has \"led the way\" in Christian legal advocacy.  In 2005, TIME Magazine named Sekulow one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America and called the ACLJ \"a powerful counterweight\" to the ACLU.  Business Week said the ACLJ is \"the leading advocacy group for religious freedom.\"  Sekulow's work on the issue of judicial nominees - including possible vacancies at the Supreme Court - has received extensive news coverage including a front page story in The Wall Street Journal.  In addition, The National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \"100 Most Influential Lawyers\" in the United States (1994, 1997).  He is also among a distinguished group of attorneys known as \"The Public Sector 45\" named by The American Lawyer (January\/February 1997).  The magazine said the designation represents \"45 young lawyers outside the private sector whose vision and commitment are changing lives.\" Sekulow brings insight and education to listeners daily with his national call-in radio program, Jay Sekulow Live!, which is broadcast throughout the country on nearly 850 radio stations.  Sekulow also hosts a weekly television program, ACLJ This Week, which tackles the tough issues of the day and is broadcast on a number of networks nationwide including the Trinity Broadcasting Network and FamilyNet.  Sekulow is also a popular guest on nationally televised news programs on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, CNBC, and PBS.  He frequently contributes articles and commentary to national publications and is often quoted in the nation's leading newspapers including USA Today, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Washington Times. A graduate of Mercer University, Sekulow graduated cum laude receiving both a bachelor's degree and doctor of jurisprudence from Mercer University where he served on the Mercer Law Review as an editorial staff member.  Following graduation, Sekulow served as a tax trial attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service.  In that capacity, Sekulow prepared and brought to trial tax cases on behalf of the United States Department of Treasury in United States Tax Court. He also received a Ph.D. from Regent University, with a dissertation on American Legal History, and is the author of numerous publications and law articles. Sekulow serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, DC.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/author\/jsekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}