The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs cannot stop a pastor from invoking the name of "Jesus Christ" in his Memorial Day prayer at Houston National Cemetery, a federal judge said Thursday.
Scott Rainey, lead pastor at the Living Word Church of the Nazarene, on Thursday filed a lawsuit requesting a temporary restraining order against the VA and its director of the Houston National Cemetery from censoring his prayer reference to Jesus.
The suit argued that the government is unconstitutionally censoring his speech and engaging in religious viewpoint discrimination.
The judge hearing the case agreed with Rainey, granting his motion for the court to intercede.
"The government cannot gag citizens when it says it is in the interest of national security, and it cannot do it in some bureaucrat's notion of cultural homogeneity," U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes wrote in his three-page order. "The right to free expression ranges from the dignity of Abraham Lincoln's speeches to Charlie Sheen's rants."
This coming Monday, Rainey will be able to recite his prayer in full during a Memorial Day service at the cemetery to honor fallen U.S. soldiers. This is the third year that the pastor has been asked by the National Cemetery Council for Greater Houston to give the invocation at the event.
In his prayer, Rainey will ask God to grant peace in the nations and to families of fallen soldiers and give wisdom to the nation's leaders.
The prayer will conclude with the Lord's Prayer and one reference to Jesus: "While respecting people of every faith today, it is in the name of Jesus Christ, the risen Lord, that I pray. Amen."
A month ago, the cemetery asked Rainey to submit a copy of his prayer for review. Cemetery director Arleen Ocasio told Rainey in an e-mail last week that he needed to edit his prayer. Rainey was also told on Wednesday that he if he didn't remove the Jesus reference then the prayer wouldn't be allowed.
Liberty Institute then filed the suit and motion for a temporary restraining order on behalf of Rainey on Thursday.
"Arleen Ocasio, the United States Department of Veteran Affairs, and all those in concert with them are forbidden from dictating the content of speeches – whether those speeches are denominational prayers or otherwise – at the Memorial Day ceremony of National Cemetery Council for Greater Houston," Hughes wrote in his order.
Showing posts with label 1st Ammendment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1st Ammendment. Show all posts
Victory for free speech in Dearborn-istan, Michigan
A federal appeals court has come down on the side of a Christian evangelist who was barred by a Detroit suburb from handing out leaflets at an Arab-American street festival.
Dearborn and its police department had sought to restrict the areas where George Saieg could hand out flyers during the Arab International Festival on Warren Avenue last year.
Saieg, an Arab-American from California, was offered a free booth from which to distribute his literature but was prohibited from walking freely around the sidewalks to hand out flyers.
The literature in question related to the conversion of Muslims to Christianity.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday that the restrictions on Saieg violated his rights to free speech and were unreasonable, given that pedestrians and vendors were able to use the sidewalks.
The 2-1 decision in the court means that the city and Police Chief Ronald Haddad could be held liable for damages.
Mayor John B. O'Reilly, Jr. said in a statement: "Since the festival chose to keep the sidewalks open for other business not related to the festival, the court ruled that the sidewalks had to be available for the material distribution: It is a narrow opinion, and one we will abide by."
The court’s decision overturns a ruling last year by a federal judge in Detroit which upheld the restrictions imposed by the city.
"Everybody should be pleased," Saieg's attorney, Robert Muise, was quoted as saying by The Associated Press.
"Dearborn is getting a pretty strong reputation as being the enemy of the First Amendment,” he said. “As long as they keep passing these draconian restrictions that violate the rights of everyone, we're going to challenge them."
Muise said the evangelist plans to attend the festival when it is held again June 17-19.
Also planning to make an appearance is inflammatory Florida pastor the Rev. Terry Jones, who triggered a wave of violent protests across the Middle East and parts of Asia when he participated in a Quran burning.
Dearborn and its police department had sought to restrict the areas where George Saieg could hand out flyers during the Arab International Festival on Warren Avenue last year.
Saieg, an Arab-American from California, was offered a free booth from which to distribute his literature but was prohibited from walking freely around the sidewalks to hand out flyers.
The literature in question related to the conversion of Muslims to Christianity.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday that the restrictions on Saieg violated his rights to free speech and were unreasonable, given that pedestrians and vendors were able to use the sidewalks.
The 2-1 decision in the court means that the city and Police Chief Ronald Haddad could be held liable for damages.
Mayor John B. O'Reilly, Jr. said in a statement: "Since the festival chose to keep the sidewalks open for other business not related to the festival, the court ruled that the sidewalks had to be available for the material distribution: It is a narrow opinion, and one we will abide by."
The court’s decision overturns a ruling last year by a federal judge in Detroit which upheld the restrictions imposed by the city.
"Everybody should be pleased," Saieg's attorney, Robert Muise, was quoted as saying by The Associated Press.
"Dearborn is getting a pretty strong reputation as being the enemy of the First Amendment,” he said. “As long as they keep passing these draconian restrictions that violate the rights of everyone, we're going to challenge them."
Muise said the evangelist plans to attend the festival when it is held again June 17-19.
Also planning to make an appearance is inflammatory Florida pastor the Rev. Terry Jones, who triggered a wave of violent protests across the Middle East and parts of Asia when he participated in a Quran burning.
