Atheist wins right to pray before council (Provo Daily Herald, a.k.a. HarkTheHerald.com, Saturday, April 12, 2003): If atheist Tom Snyder still wants to pray before the Murray City Council to Mother in Heaven for deliverance from weak and stupid politicians, he has the blessing of the Utah Supreme Court. The court on Friday ruled that if Murray officials want to pray during government-sponsored events, the chance to offer the prayer must be equally accessible to all who ask. The Supreme Court's 4-1 ruling reversed the dismissal of a lawsuit that Snyder, 71, filed in state court in 1999.
"I'm pleased as punch," Snyder said in a news release. "There is more than one school of thought as to religion in Utah. Thanks to the Supreme Court for reaffirming that constitutional protection. There should be no government preference for one religion over another or a preference for religion over nonreligion."
Somehow, I suspect that Murray will end up junking their prayer, rather than allowing this particular prayer to be read at any city function. Which, to be sure, is what Mr Snyder is really after. (It is a rather impressively sententious and pompous prayer.)
One suspects that if this made it to the US Supreme Court, the reaction would be, more or less, "Why the hell are you reading denominational prayers at city functions in any event? Stop that."
Posted by iain at April 14, 2003 12:29 AMComments
