By now, most people have heard about The Response, Texas governor Rick Perry's prayer and fasting summit that will be held on August 6th at Reliant Stadium. The Response is a specifically Evangelical Christian meeting organized to save our nation's economy and society by appealing to Jesus for a solution. Yeah. Jesus. Apparently Rick Perry has looked at the current economy and said, "I've got nothing." The Response is mostly funded by the American Family Association, a racist, bigoted organization that blames the Muslim and homosexual communities for society's ills. This group has been labeled as a hate group, equal to groups like the Ku Klux Klan, by the Southern Poverty Law Center for their comments concerning the LGBT community. The AFA hosts numerous radio shows nationwide, notably one by Brian Fischer, who has blamed homosexuals for the Holocaust. Simply look up Brian Fischer and The American Family Association on Youtube should you be inclined to subject yourself to the astoundingly hateful rhetoric spewing from this organization. Rick Perry has remained unfazed by the criticism of his involvement with this organization.
This article, however, will not delve into any of these matters. The problems caused by the AFA and it's followers are plainly obvious to anyone with half a brain. The issue I have is with the Freedom From Religion Foundation, an organization I often support. Last week they filed a lawsuit against Rick Perry attempting to stop The Response from occurring. The FFRF asserts that Rick Perry has violated the First Amendment, specifically the Establishment Clause by promoting and participating in this event. They claim that Perry's participation in the event gives the impression that the government endorses evangelical christian beliefs over other religious beliefs. His video inviting all citizens to join in prayer was shot from the Texas Capital and is posted on the governor's website. Additionally, they seek to have the use of the Texas state seal in promoting the event to be ruled unconstitutional. While Perry is using private funding to pay for this event, these actions are indeed a violation of separation of church and state. And that's the problem with this lawsuit.
Perry's promotion and participation concerning this event obviously push the boundaries of the establishment clause where secularists are concerned. The problem is they don't necessarily break the letter of the law, but they certainly clash with the spirit of the law. My fear concerning this lawsuit is that it doesn't have a 'smoking gun'. This isn't a slam dunk case. The problem that arises is when these types of lawsuits get turned down. Every time a case involving the establishment clause has a ruling against it, it sets a legal precedent. This stands in the way of stronger lawsuits in the future. An example of this is several of the Michael Newdow cases concerning the mention of God in the pledge of allegiance and on U.S. currency. Even extremely liberal justices ruled against him simply because courts had previously determined these religious statements to be constitutional.
I fear this case is overwhelmingly weak. The Establishment Clause does not prohibit a politician from holding religious beliefs as well as speaking about them. In my opinion, Rick Perry's video promotion is a violation of the first amendment as long as it is posted on the official governor's site. Does this, however, differ from the President of the United States proclaiming a national day of prayer? That case, also filed by the FFRF, is still being appealed. Will a lower court judge take this into consideration? You'd be a fool to conclude otherwise. The problem here for the FFRF and the rest of us, is not that Perry violates the First Amendment. It's that it's not a strong enough case to risk a precedent being set against us.
This is where the FFRF has gone wrong. In being overeager to do what's right according to the Constitution, they have risked setting their own movement back. When a government official blatantly violates the Establishment Clause, by all means, take them down. But when it's something as trivial as a governor of a state posting a video on his website, please for your own sake, stay quiet. Yes, you're absolutely right. The Constitution has been violated. This is a disgusting, shameful abuse of office by a politician and a nauseating display of arrogance by a fundamental Christian. But you most likely won't win in the current political climate and in the current society in which we live. Go for the cases you're absolutely sure of, not the feel good long shots based on principle. The chance to make a statement is not worth the chance of setting precedent that will hinder your mission in the future. Please, for everyone's sake, pick your battles more carefully.
Having said that, here's hoping Rick Perry goes down... and goes down hard.
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