RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Before legislators could even begin debate on how to plug a three billion-dollar hole in the state's two-year budget on their first day back for a short session, controversy had already started with the opening prayer.
The invocation came from Hashmel Turner, a Fredericksburg pastor and City Council member who was barred from referencing Jesus at council meetings and unsuccessfully took the case to the Supreme Court.
House Speaker William J. Howell, R-Stafford, invited Turner to deliver the year's first prayer, which he concluded -- quote -- "in the holy and blessed name of Jesus Christ."
Turner alleged in a federal lawsuit that Fredericksburg violated his First Amendment rights with its policy that all Council prayers be nondenominational. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Turner in July, saying his use of "in Jesus' name" when ending opening prayers wasn't protected because it was government speech, not individual expression. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear his appeal.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement