GREENSBORO, N.C. -
A federal judge heard arguments in a Greensboro courtroom Wednesday morning over what kind of prayers should be allowed before Forsyth County Commissioners meetings.
During the hearing, which lasted about an hour and a half in U.S. District Court in Greensboro, Magistrate Judge P. Trevor Sharpe said he would issue a ruling on the issue soon.
Sharpe said laws about the kind of prayers that are acceptable in public meetings are not entirely straightforward. He said he wanted to listen to audio recordings and read transcriptions of recent prayers provided by the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing the plaintiffs in the case.
The judge also said he would review rulings on similar issues in other districts.
In a lawsuit filed in 2007, several residents alleged Forsyth County promotes Christianity because its prayer policy does not exclude references to Jesus Christ or other sectarian deities.
The lawsuit claims, by not restricting the mention of Jesus, the county promotes Christianity.
"The law in our circuit says sectarian prayer in and of itself advances Christianity or any other religion -- in this case, Christianity -- in violation of the Establishment Clause," said Katy Parker, the North Carolina ACLU legal director.
"No one has the right to tell anyone in whose name they should pray, and least of all in a government meeting," said Janet Joyner, one of the plaintiffs being represented by Parker and the ACLU.
Joyner said she felt out of a place at a 2007 meeting of the Forsyth County Commissioners and decided not to speak out on the issue she was there for.
"I refrained from speaking on the issue because I thought it would harm the issue," she said. "That's not a position I think any citizen should be put in."
The county is being represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, which is defending the county at no charge.
Forsyth County Commissioner Gloria Whisenhunt said the commissioners send out more than 600 letters each year inviting clergy from all religions to give the invocation before meetings.
"We do not show partiality. We send the same letter to everyone, so I really don't know anything else we can do," she said. "No one is being forced to sit in our meetings. I'm very sorry they feel that way."
Commissioners said only those of Christian faith have chosen to come to their meetings, and Pastor Ronnie Baity of Berean Baptist Church said that's representative of the majority of Forsyth County residents.
"If a poll was given in Winston-Salem, I'm sure 90-plus percent of people in Forsyth County (would say) 'Yes, let's pray in the name of the Lord Jesus.' So we let majority rule everywhere else, so I don't see why it doesn't rule here," he said.
Each side asked Sharpe to make a summary judgment, which is a ruling without going to trial. The judge said he would comply with those requests.
During the hearing, which lasted about an hour and a half in U.S. District Court in Greensboro, Magistrate Judge P. Trevor Sharpe said he would issue a ruling on the issue soon.
Sharpe said laws about the kind of prayers that are acceptable in public meetings are not entirely straightforward. He said he wanted to listen to audio recordings and read transcriptions of recent prayers provided by the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing the plaintiffs in the case.
The judge also said he would review rulings on similar issues in other districts.
In a lawsuit filed in 2007, several residents alleged Forsyth County promotes Christianity because its prayer policy does not exclude references to Jesus Christ or other sectarian deities.
The lawsuit claims, by not restricting the mention of Jesus, the county promotes Christianity.
"The law in our circuit says sectarian prayer in and of itself advances Christianity or any other religion -- in this case, Christianity -- in violation of the Establishment Clause," said Katy Parker, the North Carolina ACLU legal director.
"No one has the right to tell anyone in whose name they should pray, and least of all in a government meeting," said Janet Joyner, one of the plaintiffs being represented by Parker and the ACLU.
Joyner said she felt out of a place at a 2007 meeting of the Forsyth County Commissioners and decided not to speak out on the issue she was there for.
"I refrained from speaking on the issue because I thought it would harm the issue," she said. "That's not a position I think any citizen should be put in."
The county is being represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, which is defending the county at no charge.
Forsyth County Commissioner Gloria Whisenhunt said the commissioners send out more than 600 letters each year inviting clergy from all religions to give the invocation before meetings.
"We do not show partiality. We send the same letter to everyone, so I really don't know anything else we can do," she said. "No one is being forced to sit in our meetings. I'm very sorry they feel that way."
Commissioners said only those of Christian faith have chosen to come to their meetings, and Pastor Ronnie Baity of Berean Baptist Church said that's representative of the majority of Forsyth County residents.
"If a poll was given in Winston-Salem, I'm sure 90-plus percent of people in Forsyth County (would say) 'Yes, let's pray in the name of the Lord Jesus.' So we let majority rule everywhere else, so I don't see why it doesn't rule here," he said.
Each side asked Sharpe to make a summary judgment, which is a ruling without going to trial. The judge said he would comply with those requests.
