US District Court Decides National Prayer Day is not Constitutional

FFRF celebrates National Day of Prayer victory

U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb decided in favor of the Freedom From Religion Foundation in a ruling that the federal law designating a National Day of Prayer and requiring a National Day of Prayer proclamation by the president violates the establishment clause of the Constitution's First Amendment.

In her ruling, Judge Crabb wrote: "The same law that prohibits the government from declaring a National Day of Prayer also prohibits it from declaring a National Day of Blasphemy."

The Foundation filed its groundbreaking suit in October 2008. Plaintiffs besides the Foundation are Anne Nicol Gaylor, Annie Laurie Gaylor, Dan Barker, Paul Gaylor, Phyllis Rose and Jill Dean, who are all Foundation officers or board members. Defendants are President Barack Obama and Robert Gibbs, his press secretary. Original defendants were President George Bush and Dana Perino, his press secretary at the time.

All presidents since 1952 have issued proclamations designating the National Day of Prayer each year. Since 1988, the National Day of Prayer has been held on the first Thursday in May. The president’s proclamations are released by the Office of the Press Secretary.

The next graf is where the injunction against the President from observing it it stayed until it goes through appeals, which, since Prayer Day is the first Thursday in May, is coming fast upon us, means Obama is going to do....something. Also, as for National Blasphemy Day--since I blasphemed last year on Blasphemy Day and observe it as a tradition of the Internets, I'll just consider it part of the First Amendment in general--not sanctioned or supported, but not banned, either.

I think this ruling is a good thing, and have pretty much considered the idea of a National Prayer Day like a political football for a long while--wedgy, not important to policy, but a sop to the Religious Right.