A lot has been said on various websites the last few days about how the Oneida cheerleaders reciting the Lords Prayer is unconstitutional. Im no attorney...but, then again, neither are those who are doing the talking. Im pretty sure anyone who wants to object to what theyre doing will find that they dont have a legal leg to stand on. Cheerleaders voluntarily reciting the Lords Prayer (or saying any prayer) is no different than the football team praying in the locker room before a game or on the field at the end of a game...or a single player praying after a touchdown. Its been said that the cheerleaders cannot do what they did because theyre wearing uniforms (thus, representing the school), but so are the football players. And heres what the Supreme Court has said in regards to students praying: Nothing in the Constitution...prohibits any public school student from voluntarily praying at any time before, during, or after the school day. Ironically, that statement comes from the same 2000 Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe decision that is being cited as proof that the cheerleaders prayer is unconstitutional. But Santa Fe v. Doe established that cheerleaders cannot LEAD THE CROWD in prayer. At Oneida, the cheerleaders arent leading the crowd in prayer. Theyre simply praying on the sideline, as a unit, and the crowd is choosing to join in. As for the argument that cheerleaders arent allowed to pray because they are representatives of the school by being in uniform, the Supreme Court also said this in 1969s Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District: School officials do not possess absolute authority over their students. Students in school as well as out of school are ‘persons’ under our Constitution. They are possessed of fundamental rights which the State must respect, just as they themselves must respect their obligations to the State.” In fact, a court in Texas ruled just this week that it is not unconstitutional for cheerleaders to display banners that have biblical references on them. The much-cited Santa Fe v. Doe stated that school OFFICIALS cannot facilitate prayer at football games and other school activities. The argument has been made that OHS Principal Kevin Byrd facilitated these prayers. I know that to be untrue because I was standing there when cheerleaders approached administrators on a couple of occasions several months ago. It was the cheerleaders who took the initiative to say a prayer. They simply asked him for his permission, and he said that would appear to be legal...and theres nothing in that action that violates any precedent set by the Supreme Court. In fact, according to the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ), which advocates for students religious rights and defends students in situations just like this one, the Supreme Courts rulings hold that a principal can SUPPORT and even give OFFICIAL RECOGNITION to prayers...he just cant organize or promote them himself. So when you see these self-proclaimed legal experts on some of these websites calling for Oneida Special School District to lose federal funding or be forced to suspend its cheerleading program, ask them to go read the SCOTUS rulings for themselves so theyll be better educated. Clearly, what these cheerleaders are doing does not violate the First Amendment or the court-precedented Separation of Church and State.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 17:13:45 +0000
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