Pace: the final frontier, chapter 2 — Where prayer in school just won't go away

A month ago, I told you about the Florida Panhandle community of Pace and its peculiar breed of batshit crazy fundamentalist Christians -- you know, the ones who seem never to have heard of the U.S. Constitution? Well, those folks are back in the news again, and I'm shocked -- shocked! -- to discover that they still don't understand the concept of separation of church and state!

Instead, they're holding a big ol' "Rally for Education," conveniently ignoring the fact that public education and religion ought to have nothing to do with each other, and they're claiming that they have the First Amendment on their side, not those heathens led by the ACLU:

"We will educate people on their rights according to the First Amendment and express the heritage of our country in regard to freedom of religion," said [the Rev. Matt] Cotten, minister of education and outreach at Pine Terrace Baptist Church in Milton. "I believe you can peacefully express your religion any place, any time."

The rally is in response to a federal lawsuit filed in August by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of two unnamed Pace High students who objected to Santa Rosa School District personnel promoting religious activity in the classroom and at school events.

The School District admitted the allegations, and a consent decree spelling out the steps the district will take to end the violations was signed this month. It still must be reviewed by a federal judge.

Tallahassee attorney J. David Marsey, who represented the district in the suit, noted at the time that the agreement stops only School District-sanctioned prayer.

"Nothing prevents our kids from praying," Marsey said.

But Cotten, a father of two, one of whom is a Pace High sophomore, still objects to the limits imposed by the consent degree.

"I had to do something," he said.

A former computer engineer, he set up a Web site, www.ok2pray.org.

"Groups such as the ACLU are working overtime to destroy our rights and civil liberties as Christians in America," he writes on the site. "We believe it is time for Christians to stand up and take a stand peacefully but with strength and perseverance."

Okay, Rev. Cotten, let's go over this nice and slowly so you can understand: Which part of "pray anytime and anywhere you want, just not in an organized fashion in a public school" do you not like? If you have to "do something," why is it demonstrate against the Constitution and use some perverted reading of the First Amendment to claim that you have free speech rights to organized school prayer?

Maybe you didn't pick this up in law school, but since I did, I'll try to explain briefly. The First Amendment does provide for freedom of speech, but like all freedoms we as Americans enjoy, there are certain limits to them. As I like to say by way of example, my right to swing my fist ends at your face; at that point, I'm violating your rights. Similarly, your right to say anything you like -- to preach the Gospel, for example -- ends on public school property, because American jurisprudence has determined that people who are not Christians (and yes, Rev. Cotten, believe it or not, they do exist -- even in Pace) shouldn't have to be subjected to your prayers.

The bottom line, as Mr. Marsey, the Tallahassee attorney quoted above, already explained, is that you can "peacefully express your religion any place, any time." Indeed, no one is stopping anyone from praying! But the part that you apparently can't get through your skull is that you just can't organize prayer in public schools! Pray in your churches ... pray in your homes ... pray in the park ... hell (oops, sorry!), even tell your kids to pray in school! But remember that the school can't sponsor or organize the prayers -- that's pretty much the only restriction. And for those students or staff members who may be Jewish or Muslim or Buddhist or agnostic or atheist or whatever, that's the fair and appropriate way to do things.

And this might surprise you, Rev. Cotten -- even the ACLU believes you have the right to pray!

The ACLU supports everyone's right to pray, said Benjamin Stevenson, staff attorney for Florida.

"We continue to fight for the liberty to worship without undue impediments from the government," he said. "Inherent in religious liberty is the freedom from government actors using their official position to harness the government's resources and advantages to promote their own personal religious beliefs."

[...]

ACLU officials are pleased the participants will exercise their First Amendment rights, Stevenson said.

"More, not less, dialogue preserves our democracy," he said.

So, please, Rev. Cotten, understand that no one is trying to proscribe religion, and the reasonable restrictions adopted by the Santa Rosa County School Board do nothing -- NOTHING -- to restrict your rights to prayer. It just doesn't belong in our public schools.

(See -- I'll bet you thought I was going to tell Rev. Cotten to shut the fuck up. I really can be civil after all!)