NC County Will Fight Prayer Lawsuit

By a 4-3 party line vote, the Forsyth County (North Carolina) County Commission yesterday decided to undertake an active defense of a suit challenging the Commission's practice of opening meetings with a sectarian prayer. (See prior posting.) The county will be defended by Alliance Defense Fund that will argue a sectarian prayer policy is constitutional as long it is inclusive of all faiths. ADF will pay all costs of defense, but will not damages, or legal fees of the plaintiffs, if Forsyth County loses. A new nonprofit group, the North Carolina Partnership for Religious Liberty, was formed this week to solicit funds to cover those costs. Development are covered today by the Winston-Salem Journal, which has also posted a link to ADF attorney Mike Johnson explaining the Commission's decision to fight the lawsuit. (MP3 file). He said in part: "Prayer should not be censored, not by government and not by the ACLU."