Current Issues
Courts got this one right – of course lawmakers can pray!
September 8, 2017

It’s hard to believe we are even debating the question of legislative prayer due to the overwhelming evidence that prayer is a bedrock of our nation. The very lawmakers who wrote our nation’s brilliant founding documents, that codified every American’s God-given freedom, prayed often, both privately and publicly!

Be that as it may, we are very pleased that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit this week has affirmed by a vote of 8-6 the district court ruling on all counts, upholding Jackson County’s legislative prayer practices. Congratulations to First Liberty Institute on this critical win for religious freedom!

“[This] decision further solidifies what the U.S. Supreme Court has now twice said: Invocations before government meetings are constitutional and an important part of our nation’s history and heritage,” said Ken Klukowski, Senior Counsel at First Liberty.

Jackson County legislative meetings, along with hundreds of government meetings including Congress, open with prayer, and I for one am glad they are still calling on Almighty God to help them lead and govern well in this very difficult time for our nation.

Over 100 legislators from the American Prayer Caucus Network signed an amicus brief, and were quoted in the opinion written by Balch and Bingham, LLC. We are very pleased to have played a role in this outcome, and hope you consider it as much a victory as we do.