Posted by
Billy on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 11:59:43 AM
After being threatened by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the Desoto County School Board in Mississippi has decided to comply and ban prayers from football games and other school functions. Fans at a county football game on Friday, however, had different plans.
District Attorney Keith Treadway believes the law prohibits prayers over the public address (PA) system at sporting events, but Kelly Shackelford of the Liberty Institute says the Freedom From Religion Foundation is misinforming people.
"You have a right to speak a religious thought, even if it's on government property, even if it's on a PA system that's government -owned, even if it's on a public street, a public park, which are also government property," he contends.
The county school district may have decided to ban prayers at games, but parents and students did it anyway on Friday night at the DeSoto Central football game in Southaven.
WPTY in Memphis reports that following the national anthem -- in the absence of a prayer over the loudspeaker -- hundreds of people chose to recite the Lord's Prayer. "Their message, delivered quietly, was still powerful," says the ABC affiliate.