The same court that agreed to hear the sodomy case won't hear one about prayer. Some traditions appear to fit in the liberal lifestyle and some don't. The courts are the liberal left's best friend. So the whims of the minority on the left destroy another tradition in America.


"Supreme Court Lets Stand Ban on VMI Prayer

By Jerry Markon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 27, 2004; Page B01


The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday refused to hear Virginia's appeal of a ruling that struck down the Virginia Military Institute's suppertime prayers as unconstitutional, ending another hallowed tradition at the school that eight years ago was forced to admit women.



The decision let stand last year's ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, which said the 50-year tradition of cadets standing at attention and praying violated their First Amendment rights. Two cadets had sued the state-financed school over the prayers in 2002.

Justice John Paul Stevens cited mostly procedural grounds in explaining the court's refusal to take the case. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer concurred. But Justice Antonin Scalia blasted the decision in a dissent, joined by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist.

"VMI has previously seen another of its traditions abolished by this court," Scalia wrote, referring to the court's 1996 decision mandating coeducation at VMI. "This time, however, its cause has been ignored rather than rejected -- though the consequences will be just the same."

Scalia called the prayer issue "a constitutional issue of considerable consequence."

VMI, based in Lexington, downplayed any consequences of yesterday's Supreme Court action. While the school issued a statement saying it was "disappointed," officials said the prayers stopped in January 2002 when the lawsuit was filed. Even without the legal battle, they added, the prayers would have become logistically difficult because in September 2002, the school ended the long tradition of cadets marching together into the mess hall to eat as a group.

"If there's one thing VMI is good at, it's taking orders. We're not worried at all about the fact that the Supreme Court has told us we couldn't do something twice," said Sam Witt, president of the school's Board of Visitors. "So much in life changes that you get used to that, and you get used to different rules and traditions, if you will."

State Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore (R), whose office defended VMI in the case, said the Supreme Court's "inaction on this issue creates a tear in the fabric of our country."

"It is disheartening," Kilgore said in a statement, "that while American soldiers are fighting for our liberties in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, our young men and women training to be soldiers and leaders at VMI are prevented from praying for their safety as a body."

The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of cadets Neil Mellen and Paul Knick, hailed the Supreme Court's action. "The bottom line is that a state institution may not endorse any particular religious belief and a state institution may not coerce individuals to participate in a prayer," said Rebecca Glenberg, legal director of the ACLU of Virginia.

Legal experts said it was still unclear what, if any, practical consequences the court battle will have.

The Supreme Court has prohibited state-sponsored prayer in elementary and secondary schools but has never directly addressed the issue in higher education. The ruling will stand in the 4th Circuit, which covers Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

A three-judge 4th Circuit panel said last April that cadets were "plainly coerced" into participating in the prayers as part of an overall educational system at VMI that the court said emphasizes "obedience and conformity." The full 4th Circuit declined to reconsider that ruling in August.

Historically, VMI students would march together into the stone and brick Crozet Dining Hall, built in the 1930s, and stand at attention with their hands at their sides. A "cadet chaplain" -- a student picked by the chaplain's office -- would recite a prayer that invoked God, without any mention of Jesus. VMI students were not required to bow their heads or recite the prayer during the exercise.

Hmmm, and the Supreme Court is a 5-4 Republican sided court right now.

Gramps,

I'll give you 10 bucks to walk up to Justices Rehnquist, Scalia, and Thomas and call them Liberals.

(My emphasis added)

Wow, but that would be, like, progress and evolution. Is that a good thing?

But that is prejudicial to religious fanatics and denying them their right to freedom of religion.