This surprised me. In a good way.
The Obama administration has sided with a small town’s fight to be able to open their town supervisors meeting with a prayer. Last year, a federal appeals court told them they couldn’t so the Obama administration, along with congressional Republicans, filed a brief with the Supreme Court arguing that the town should be able to open their meeting with a prayer.
The LA Times reports:
The Obama administration and congressional Republicans have found something to agree on: Town councils should be allowed to open their meetings with a Christian prayer.
Lawyers for the administration and two groups of lawmakers from the House and Senate, nearly all Republicans, separately made that argument in briefs to the Supreme Court this week. The high court should relax the constitutional limits on religious invocations at government meetings, they argued.
The case could lead to a major change in the law on religion that would go well beyond prayers at council meetings.
Last year, a federal appeals court ruled that the town of Greece, N.Y., near Rochester, had crossed the line and violated the 1st Amendment’s ban on an “establishment of religion.” For years, the town supervisor had invited a local minister to deliver an opening prayer at the council’s monthly meeting. Members of the audience were encouraged to join in the prayers.
