Wyoming School Allows Prayer Under Lawsuit Threat

A group of students at Glendo (Wyoming) High School that gathered in a corner of the cafeteria to quietly pray together was told to stop it, and Principal Stanetta Twiford instructed the students to conceal themselves elsewhere in the building in order to comply with an ACLU legal opinion concerning visible prayer in schools.  However, after the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) threatened to sue Platte County School District #1 for this unconstitutional prohibition, Superintendent Dennis Fischer acquiesced.
 
For background, click headlines below to read previous articles:

Let us Pray in School: It's the Law in Missouri

North Carolina Citizens Demand Prayer in Public School

Ohio School Board Wants Prayer, Ignoring Atheists

Louisiana Students, School Reject ACLU's Ungodly Demand

Atheists Threaten Arkansas School so Citizens Pray Publicly

Texas School Supt. Tells Anti-prayer Atheists to Go Fly a Kite





-- From "Wyoming School District Affirms Students' Right To Pray" by Aaron Schrank, Wyoming Public Radio - NPR 12/22/15

In October, some students formed a prayer circle in Glendo High School’s cafeteria. Administrators say a parent lunch monitor and the school principal told the students to pray elsewhere because of concerns about separation of church and state.

But Superintendent Dennis Fischer says—after consulting the district’s attorney—he found that the lunchroom prayer was appropriate and within students’ rights provided under federal law.

Last week, the district sent a letter to Alliance Defending Freedom, informing the group that the incident had been dealt with. Fischer says school staff are now better informed about students' right to pray.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Platte County School District #1 Prayer Controversy" by Roger Gray, KGAB-AM650 12/21/15

The group Alliance Defending Freedom says that the principal of Glendo High School, with a population of only 50 or so students, had prevented a group of 7 students from praying over their meals in the cafeteria.

The ADF says, they were contacted by a local pastor. They sent a letter to the school demanding that the “ban” on prayer be lifted. Here is how they phrased it in their press release…

“No student should be prevented from engaging in private prayer alone or quietly with other students on campus,” said ADF Legal Counsel Jonathan Scruggs. “The U.S. Supreme Court has weighed in on this specifically. The First Amendment protects the right to pray in a non-disruptive manner not just in private but in public, too. The district has done the right thing in lifting its unconstitutional ban.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "School Reminded Of Constitution, Reverses Private Prayer Ban" by Casey Harper, Daily Caller 12/19/15

A small group of students at Platte County School District #1 created a prayer circle [that was led by the children of Pastor Marty Roark] in the cafeteria of Glendo High School to pray for their meal on October 15. The students prayed audibly, and it was not part of a regularly scheduled group. Afterward, the students say Principal Stanetta Twiford accosted one of the students and accused the student of forcing their religion on other students.

The principal allegedly said students needed permission to pray and then must go in the hallway or gymnasium if they wanted to talk to God. That way, other students wouldn’t see the prayer. The school argued the students were a captive audience being forced to witness the prayer. The father of two of the students appealed to the principal, who stood firm on the rule.

“School cafeterias are not religion-free zones, and they certainly do not involve captive audiences,” ADF said in a letter letter to the district. “Students in the cafeteria are not captive audiences because they can leave at any time or turn away from the quiet prayer in the corner…”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Public Prayer Ban Against Christian Students Overturned by School District" by Samuel Smith, Christian Post Reporter 12/21/15

The Roark children and one of their friends told the pastor about the principal not letting them pray in the cafeteria during lunch. Roark then sent [Principal] Twiford information explaining that children had the legal right to pray during lunch.

A few days later when Roark saw Twiford at a school basketball game, he asked her if the students would be allowed to pray. Twiford again rejected the request and said allowing them to pray in the cafeteria would force other students to be a "captive audience."

Roark then left messages for Platte County School District Superintendent Dennis Fischer, who responded by citing the American Civil Liberties Union [ACLU] in stating that Twiford was right to stop the prayer gatherings in the cafeteria because it would have "compelled other students to participate."

After the school district's refusal to let the students pray in the cafeteria during lunch, Roark contacted the Alliance Defending Freedom, which sent a demand letter on Dec. 4 to Fischer, Twiford and the school district's attorney stating that the school has two weeks to allow the students to pray or it would consider filing a lawsuit against the school district.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read Majority in U.S. Want Christmas in Schools: Poll

Gov't Pays $275,000 for Pro-lifers' False Arrests

The town of Jackson, the state of Wyoming and government insurance will have paid a total of more than a quarter million dollars to settle lawsuits in the U.S. District Court in Cheyenne brought by Rev. Chester E. Gallagher of Las Vegas, Nevada, Rev. Mark Holick of Wichita Kansas, and Operation Save America.  In 2012, Justice Michael Golden wrote the Wyoming Supreme Court ruling saying the arrests by the Jackson police in 2011, based on a lower court order banning pro-life protesting in the town square, violated free speech rights.

For background, click headlines below to read previous articles:

Idaho University Pays $20,000 to Unmuzzle Pro-lifers

Wyoming Pays $30,000 for Censoring Pro-life Posters

Harassment of Pro-lifers Costs Illinois City $$

Ohio College Pays $9,000 for Censoring Christian Speech

U.S. Supreme Court Rules Unanimously that Christians are Free to Speak near Abortion Clinics

Oregon Abortion Jihadists Attack Pro-lifers' Sign

Abortion Clinic Bombing Targets Pro-lifers Praying

Christians Arrested While Praying at White House

Judges Counter President Obama's Attacks on Pro-lifers

President Obama Touts Abortion; Americans March Against It

-- From "Nevada reverend reaches settlement with Jackson over arrest" by Ben Neary, Associated Press 6/23/15

[The $50,000 settlement for Rev. Gallagher is] "a victory for the rule of law because the Bill of Rights serves as a restraint on government, not the people," [attorney Jack Edwards] said on Tuesday.

The protesters had targeted Jackson — displaying photos of aborted fetuses — because a physician there [Dr. Brent Blue] was the only one in the state who had been open about his willingness to perform abortions as part of his medical practice. The anti-abortion protest was staged the same weekend as a traditional Boy Scout auction of elk antlers.

Jackson town attorney Audrey Cohen-Davis declined through her office to comment Tuesday on the most recent settlement. A receptionist said Cohen-Davis referred questions to a lawyer representing the Wyoming Local Government Liability Pool. That lawyer didn't immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment.

The Rev. Rusty Thomas, director of Operation Save America, said Tuesday in his 30 years of protesting to end abortions, he has seen perhaps 10 situations that could have led to legitimate lawsuits against different cities.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Jackson, state pay to settle abortion protest case" by David Edwards, Casper Star-Tribune staff writer 4/26/14

The [$225,000] settlement was announced Friday by Etna attorney Jack Edwards, who was part of the legal team representing Mark Holick. The lawsuit was prompted by Holick's 2011 arrest on the Jackson town square during an event the protesters called States of Refuge.

Jackson authorities issued a restraining order barring protesters from Spirit One Christian Ministries and Operation Save America from assembling on or near the square without a permit.

Holick's lawsuit named the arresting officer, Jackson Police Chief Todd Smith, and the town itself as defendants.

Holick said the town tried for two months to prosecute him and the other pastor who was arrested. The charges eventually were dropped.

But the town's leaders and police officers never showed willingness to admit that they might have made a mistake, Holick said, adding that it was just the opposite.

"The town fought (to justify) the issuance of the restraining order tooth-and-nail in front of the (state) Supreme Court," he said.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

UPDATE 10/22/15: Pro-lifers Muzzled, Costing Portland, Maine $56,500

GOP Coalition For 'Gay Marriage' in Appeals Court

Twenty prominent Republicans, including former U.S. senators Alan Simpson of Wyoming and Nancy Kassebaum of Kansas, are filing a document with the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals saying that citizens of Utah and Oklahoma had no constitutional basis to define marriage as one man and one woman.  These RINOs go further by arguing that government-sanctioned deviant sexual behavior is good for American society.

"Marriage is strengthened and its benefits, importance to society, and the social stability of the family unit are promoted" by same-sex marriage.
-- Republicans for "Gay Marriage" tell court

For background, read how activist judges across America are forbidding voters the right to define marriage as between one man and one woman.

Also read Lawless Obama Administration: States Should Violate Oath for 'Gay Marriage'

For further background, read GOP Strategy: Dump Old Uneducated Christian Voters and also read GOP Funds Pro-abortion Homosexual Candidates as well as Biblical Beliefs Unacceptable to Illinois GOP Leaders

UPDATE 6/26/14: Tenth Circuit Court upholds rulings favoring same-sex "marriage" -- GOP wins!!

-- From "Western U.S. Republicans to urge appeals court to back gay marriage" by Eric M. Johnson, Reuters 3/4/14

The Republican group cited constitutional guarantees of equal protection under the law, proper limits to government's role in citizens' personal lives, and individual freedom, among other reasons.

. . . 17 states plus the District of Columbia recognize same-sex marriage, including eight states where it became legal in 2013.

Utah and Oklahoma would be added to that list if federal court rulings overturning gay marriage bans on constitutional grounds are upheld by the U.S. Appeals Court in Denver. Hearings are slated for April.

Rulings there could render same-sex marriage legal in states within the court's circuit - namely Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming, although an opposing decision by the U.S. Supreme Court could bar them.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Republicans From the West Give Support for Gay Marriage" by Erik Eckholm, New York Times 3/3/14

The brief was the latest sign of widening cracks in Republican opposition to same-sex marriage, even deep in the country’s conservative heartland.

Sean Gallagher, a lawyer and Republican Party activist in Denver who helped prepare the brief, said many Republicans were rethinking their positions. “The themes of liberty and freedom resonate especially well in the West,” said Mr. Gallagher, who was chief counsel in Colorado for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in 2012.

In December, a federal court in Utah overturned the state’s amendment restricting marriage to a man and a woman. In January, a federal court in Oklahoma struck down that state’s ban on gay marriage.

In Nevada, the state prevailed in court in 2012 in its defense of marriage restrictions. The gay and lesbian plaintiffs appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, and last month Nevada’s Republican governor, Brian Sandoval, agreed to withdraw from the case, saying that defense of a same-sex marriage ban was not legally tenable.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read American Decline: Obama's Gay Agenda vs. Christians as well as Homosexualists Admit Goal to End Religious Liberty

Wyoming Pays $30,000 for Censoring Pro-life Posters

The Wyoming State Building Commission has admitted that their action of removing pro-life signs at the state capital was a first amendment violation, yet in order to silence pro-lifers in the future, the state has eliminated the right of any and all outside groups to exercise free speech activities in Herschler Gallery.

-- From "Wyoming agrees to settle abortion protest lawsuit" by The Associated Press 4/5/12

Under a settlement approved Thursday by U.S. District Judge Nancy Freudenthal, the state agreed to pay WyWatch Family Action $1 in nominal damages and $30,000 in attorney fees.

Rich Cathcart, head of the Wyoming State Building Commission, has said he ordered two WyWatch poster boards in the tunnel removed last year after receiving complaints. One poster featured a picture of an unborn fetus and the other a group of women saying that they regretted getting abortions.

After WyWatch filed its lawsuit early this year, the State Building Commission, which includes Gov. Matt Mead and the other four statewide elected officials, enacted a new policy banning all public displays of materials in the tunnel area.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Wyoming Officials Admit They Violated Pro-Life Group’s Rights" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 4/6/12

“Although the commissioners have done the right thing by recognizing that they violated the First Amendment rights of WyWatch members who simply wanted to display signs as others had been allowed to do, we disagree that the solution is to then shut everyone up so that you don’t have to allow pro-life speech anymore,” [Alliance Defense Fund Litigation Staff Counsel Jonathan] Scruggs explained.

Rich Cathcart, executive secretary of the State Building Commission, approved WyWatch’s request for “walk by” space in Herschler Gallery, a long and wide enclosed tunnel situated between the State Capitol Building and the Herschler State Office Building. On Feb. 3, 2011, WyWatch Family Action Chairman Becky Vandeberghe erected two signs, one depicting a living preborn baby in the womb with a Bible verse. The other sign showed a picture of a group of individuals with the caption “We Regret Our Abortions.” WyWatch placed the signs as part of its advocacy for two pro-life bills before the legislature.

By the next morning, Cathcart, after receiving a number of “inflamed calls,” had deemed the signs unacceptable and removed them because the pro-life content fell outside of the “generic stuff” that he claimed was allowed, even though the application process never specified any such limitation.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "State shuts down everyone to stop Christian message" by Bob Unruh, World Net Daily 4/6/12

The court consent order specifies that “the parties agree, and the court accepts, that the … defendants unconstitutionally prevented plaintiff from engaging in protected expression in the Herschler Gallery in February 2011 by enforcing an unconstitutionally vague policy against the plaintiff and by enforcing that policy in such a way to discriminate against the viewpoint of plaintiff’s expression.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.