SC Democrats Push Forced School Prayer Bill,

[doggie]

Who says democrats can't be stupid. I mean really this is just so against the constitution but I guess they have nothing better to do with their time.

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/01/02 ... democrats/

South Carolina schools could soon be forced to conduct prayer in the classroom if a piece of legislation is passed this year. And it’s not only Republicans who seek to violate the separation of church and state. It’s mostly Democrats.

South Carolina Democrats sponsored a bill to force prayer in schools.

Despite multiple Supreme Court rulings that prohibit school sponsored prayer, several South Carolina Democrats are seeking to force its re-introduction. Last February, eight Democrats and two Republicans introduced H. 3526 in the statehouse.

According to the text of the bill,

“All schools shall provide for a minute of mandatory silence at the beginning of each school day, during which time the teacher may deliver a prayer, provided the school allows a student to leave the classroom if the student does not want to listen to or participate in the prayer.â€

To recap, lawmakers want teachers to lead a forced prayer every morning with students. Democratic state Rep. Wendell Gilliard thinks this whole thing is one big compromise as long as students are allowed to pray to whomever they want or opt out altogether.

“The compromise would be to have the students to pray to whomever they want to. If they want to do away with teachers conducting the prayer that would be fine with us. The essential part of the bill, the important part, is putting prayer back in school. There would be no noise, no disruption, no anything. But the teacher would conduct it to let the students know we would have one minute for a moment of silence of prayer. That person can pray to whomever they please.†(SOURCE)

Gilliard and his fellow lawmakers must not have ever read the various Supreme Court rulings on school prayer.

[Cleopatra7]

It's probably a desperate attempt to make the Democratic Party more appealing to white Southerners. Since many blacks believe in the "public schools went downhill once prayer left" meme, it wouldn't alienate the Democratic base. If the bill gets torpedoed, via the courts or during deliberations, they can still claim they fought the good fight.

Also, I've never understood why pro-school prayer Christians claim that students can just "opt out." Haven't these people ever been to school? If you opt out of anything, it's just ammunition for people to bully you. Of course, I bet supporters of bills like this probably think that if you opt out of officially mandated school prayer, then you deserve to be bullied.

[lovemygsp]

I can't wait to leave this backasswards state. My future children will never attend public schools here. Ugh. A similar case came up with forced prayer at a graduation event and rather then uphold the law the judge made nasty comments and is forcing the family's idenity out. http://www.wspa.com/story/24124046/gree ... eral-court

[PennySycamore]

As the late legislator James Petigru said that the outbreak of the Civil War, "South Carolina is too small for a republic and too large for an insane asylum". It was true then and is still true now, more than 150 years later.

I hope that the state party will come out against this.

[ADoyle90815]

As the late legislator James Petigru said that the outbreak of the Civil War, "South Carolina is too small for a republic and too large for an insane asylum". It was true then and is still true now, more than 150 years later.

I hope that the state party will come out against this.

I was thinking of that quote, and that it's still true over 150 years later.

[Rescinded and Mended]

I'm confused as to why South Carolina is bothering to use the time and reosurces to push this through. At my son's old school, morning announcements would occur over the PA system, and at the end, the announcer would call for a moment of silence. In that moment, every person in the school could pray to God/Allah/Zeus/Cthulhu/Flying Spaghetti Monster, or simply schoose to have an introspective moment. It was left up to the individual discretion of each person who participated.

Why can't South Carolina schools do this? Why is it so important to force prayer, something that the instructor may not wish to deliver or that certain students may not want to participate in? It would also be more disruptive and take more time from already busy school schedules to round up the students who opt out of the prayer and send them into hallways.

[Childless]

I have a feeling, irregardless of the courts, that this will last only until a teacher says a prayer that offends a majority of the parents. It's only a matter of time until a Catholic/Buddhist/Muslim/Hindu/etc. teacher leads a prayer.

[Hane]

There was school prayer, along with the Pledge of Allegiance, every morning at my public school until I was in the fourth grade (early '60s).

Allow me to say that it did NOTHING to inculcate either devout Christianity or undying patriotism in any of us. My most vivid memory is of my second-grade teacher saying it the "Protestant way," perplexing us Catholic kids (she was probably having us on a little, asking, "That isn't the way you say it in church? It's the way *I* say it in church!"). It wasn't till years later that I realized that several of my classmates were Jewish.

The whole thing was a meaningless rote practice, and nobody missed it when it ended.

[Childless]

There was school prayer, along with the Pledge of Allegiance, every morning at my public school until I was in the fourth grade (early '60s).

Allow me to say that it did NOTHING to inculcate either devout Christianity or undying patriotism in any of us. My most vivid memory is of my second-grade teacher saying it the "Protestant way," perplexing us Catholic kids (she was probably having us on a little, asking, "That isn't the way you say it in church? It's the way *I* say it in church!"). It wasn't till years later that I realized that several of my classmates were Jewish.

The whole thing was a meaningless rote practice, and nobody missed it when it ended.

I never understood the point of having kids memorize and repeat the Pledge of Allegiance. They don't understand the meaning or history behind it, so there really is no point wasting time having them memorize it. That time would be better spent learning something they can grasp. The pledge can be taught later when the kids are older and can understand the concept.

[VodouDoll]

I have a feeling, irregardless of the courts, that this will last only until a teacher says a prayer that offends a majority of the parents. It's only a matter of time until a Catholic/Buddhist/Muslim/Hindu/etc. teacher leads a prayer.

Seriously. At the first mention of Adonai, Allah, or Hail Mary, all the legislators and parents who think this is a terrific idea now will be outraged about their children's rights being trampled.