Gannett News Service
May 3, 2007
BY: ELLYN FERGUSON

Elected and appointed public officials could pray in the name of Jesus Christ at public events with less fear of being sued on constitutional grounds for blurring the line between religion and government under legislation filed Wednesday by Rep. Gresham Barrett.

Under the measure, officials who refer to a specific deity while delivering a public prayer would not violate the First Amendment's establishment clause. The clause bars government from giving preference to one religion over another. Federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, would be barred from handling any legal challenges to public prayers by elected or appointed officials.

This is Barrett's second effort to get the Public Prayer Protection Act through Congress. He introduced a similar bill in the 2005-2006 session, but it stalled in the House Judiciary Committee.

He had 23 co-sponsors on his first attempt. His latest bill has 35 co-sponsors or supporters.

Barrett, R-Westminster, said he remains concerned by a federal court system he does not think is protecting religious rights.

"We have seen a trend recently in the federal court system toward removing religion from our public society," Barrett said. "Now we are seeing outside groups like the ACLU come into our own backyard and something needs to be done to ensure the constitutional rights guaranteed to all Americans are protected."

In a statement he issued on the bill, Barrett cited South Carolina examples of officials under challenge for their public displays of faith.

He said local officials remain targets as long as the South Carolina chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union can point to the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to review a lower court ruling that Great Falls, S.C., town council members violated the establishment clause when they invoked the name Jesus Christ in prayer. Barrett accused the South Carolina ACLU of equating the court's refusal to hear the case as an endorsement of a ban on sectarian prayer.

Barrett also cited lawsuit threats against Oconee County Council and Anderson County Council unless public officials stop praying to Jesus in public.