Any Prayer in School is Unconstitutional

Way past time to stop pretending that "Congress shall make no law regarding an establishment of religion" means anything other than "keep any hint of religion of any kind the fuck away from public institutions, morons."

Jack Brammer at the Herald:

The Senate Judiciary Committee signed off on a bill Thursday to allow voluntary student expression of religious or political viewpoints in public schools.

The sponsor of Senate Bill 71, Sen. Albert Robinson, R-London, said it would allow student-initiated and student-led prayer at public school events, such as football games.

The measure, which is supported by the Family Foundation of Kentucky, now goes to the Senate for its consideration.

The issue received publicity in 2011 when the state Department of Education told the Bell County school district that prayer over the public-address system before football games was unconstitutional.

Bell County school officials ended the tradition of having a minister lead prayer over the public-address system before high school football games because of a complaint from a Wisconsin-based group that promotes the separation of church and state.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky said Thursday that it had concerns about Robinson's bill.

ACLU program director Derek Selznick said the proposal might be well-intentioned, but it was "an unnecessary attempt to overregulate in an area already protected by the First Amendment."

He said the bill would prohibit Kentucky's school boards and public universities from denying funding to student organizations that discriminated against members based on sexual orientation or religion.

No law, regulation or custom stop any student from praying their guts out - silently. But when they force other students to listen, that's a violation of others' constitutional rights.