South Carolina Democrats back bill calling for mandatory daily prayers in public schools | The Raw Story

These individuals need to review Engel v. Vitale (1962) which ruled that prayer is not permitted in public school classrooms when a class is in session.

"Most of the legislation’s sponsors are Democrats. It was introduced by Reps. Wendell Gilliard (D), Robert Williams (D), Joseph Jefferson (D), Carl Anderson (D), Liston Barfield (R), Bill Clyburn (D), Heather Ammons Crawford (R), Lonnie Hosey (D), Robert Ridgeway III (D), and Don Wells (R)."

As written, H. 3526: ",,,PERMIT SCHOOLS TO LEAD A PRAYER AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL DAY,,,the teacher may deliver a prayer,,," violates Wallace v. Jaffree (1985). In this case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an Alabama "moment of silence" law was unconstitutional. It had allowed public schools in the state to start each classroom day with a moment "for meditation or voluntary prayer." The court decided 6 to 3 that the legislature's sole purpose in passing the law was to promote religion.

"The lawmakers said they were willing to compromise on that point." Pinning their hopes on a ruling in 2000 ruling by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton or any number of other cases: "The court finds that the Commonwealth's daily observance of one minute of silence act is constitutional. The act was enacted for a secular purpose, does not advance or inhibit religion, nor is there excessive entanglement with religion,,,Students may think as they wish -- and this thinking can be purely religious in nature or purely secular in nature. All that is required is that they sit silently"

I have to agree with Dawn Reitan-Brockman in her article, "A Moment of Silence: The Trojan Horse of Our Age":

,,,a thinly veiled attempt to reintroduce state-sanctioned prayer into its schools. Through trial and error in the courts, legislators have finally learned how to beat the system, beat the Lemon test, and apparently beat all the meaning out of the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment. Governmental intention to promote religion is clear when a state enacts a law to serve a religious purpose, and the intention may be evidenced by promotion of religion in general or by advancement of a particular religious belief. "Moment of silence" statutes not only promote religion in general by mandating a state sanctioned time to pray in schools, but also accommodate free exercise of religion for those who engage only in traditionally Protestant practices of praying silent, seated and still.

South Carolina Democrats back bill calling for mandatory daily prayers in public schools | The Raw Story