HONOLULU - A week after the Hawaii Senate voted to end official prayers, a group of nine senators prayed together before opening Wednesday's session.
The nine Democrats held hands, bowed their heads, and sought God's blessing, signaling that they'll still pray despite last week's vote abandoning official invocations.
Fears of court challenges prompted the Senate to end prayers, making it the first legislative body in the nation to do so.
The 25-member Senate changed its rules in a unanimous vote after the American Civil Liberties Union sent lawmakers a letter complaining that the invocations often referenced Jesus Christ more often than they did other religions. The group contended that contravened the separation of church and state.
One participant said yesterday's brief prayer asked God to bless senators' choices and offer guidance for lawmakers to do right for the people they represent.
AP correspondent Mark Niesse says the lawmakers have left the door open for possibly having additional, informal prayers in the future, and that their belief is that as long as it's not part of their official legislative session that that's fine.
No comments:
Post a Comment