Friday July 23, 2010
Pro-family Groups Act to Rescue National Day of Prayer from Lackluster Obama Defense
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 23, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Family Research Council, Liberty Institute, and over a dozen pro-family groups are accusing the Obama administration of conducting a weak defense of the National Day of Prayer and have filed a motion in federal court to be allowed to help defend it from a constitutional challenge.
“President Obama’s Justice Department filed a brief that doesn’t go far enough in defending the National Day of Prayer, which is why we are petitioning the court to participate in oral arguments,” said FRC President Tony Perkins.
“The President’s attorneys failed to cite any of the key cases that would require immediate dismissal of this lawsuit because the plaintiffs lack standing to bring it. FRC plans to mount a robust defense of this important national event that a liberal judge has attempted to scrub from the public square.”
Last April, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb declared the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional. The district court’s decision is now being reviewed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Ken Klukowski, Director of Family Research Council’s Center for Religious Liberty and lead counsel for FRC’s amicus brief in the case, noted that while Obama administration officials were on the record as defending a “freedom to worship”, the First Amendment right to “freedom of freligion” is much more expansive than a right to worship. The National Day of Prayer (NDP), he added, is “a tradition as old as the country itself” that deserves a vigorous defense from those elected to uphold the law.
“The courts cannot ban free religious expression by citizens who participate in the NDP because such participation is not imposed. Neither the Constitution nor the NDP itself require any religious activity by anyone, anywhere,” said Klukowski. “So, if permitted, we intend to present a convincing case that this is a perfect example of a harassing lawsuit that should have been dismissed at the outset.”
Click to view the amicus brief submitted by the Family Research Council and Liberty Institute:
www.frc.org/legalbrief/freedom-from-religion-foundation-v-barack-obama
Click to read the motion filed by the Family Research Council and Liberty Institute:
www.frc.org/legalbrief/motion-freedom-from-religion-foundation-v-barack-obama
Click to read the amicus brief submitted by the Department of Justice:
www.frc.org/legalbrief/doj-filing-freedom-from-religion-foundation-v-barack-obama