Suit Against Air Force Academy Prayer Luncheon Is Dismissed

Making oral findings of fact and conclusions of law, a Colorado federal district court yesterday dismissed a suit that sought to enjoin a National Prayer Luncheon at the U.S. Air Force Academy scheduled for Feb. 10. The suit claimed that the luncheon violates the Establishment Clause.  (See prior posting.)  The court, according to AP, concluded that the named plaintiffs, associate professor of economics David Mullin and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, had not demonstrated that they faced a real and imminent prospect of retribution. A written order in, Mullin v. Gould, (D CO, Feb. 9, 2011) incorporated the oral findings by reference. After the decision was handed down, chaplain Dwayne Peoples told reporters that he would emphasize at the Luncheon that the sponsor is Community Center Chapel, not the Academy.