ACLU letter doesn't stop Pittsylvania County prayer

Stop sectarian prayers at public meetings.

That’s what the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia has asked of the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors.

The American Civil Liberties Union sent the letter Tuesday to the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors asking them to stop opening meetings with Christian prayers that “explicitly refer to Jesus Christ” or instead hold nonsectarian prayers.

“The government should never use its power to promote one religion over others,” ACLU of Virginia Executive Director Kent Willis said in a prepared statement. “That is why the first clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from establishing religion, and why the courts have made it clear that formal prayers at legislative meetings must be broad and inclusive rather than focusing on a particular religion.”

County Administrator Dan Sleeper said the county received the letter Tuesday. Vaden Hunt, the county’s attorney, declined to comment on the letter until the matter is discussed with the board of supervisors.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Tim Barber said the board will continue its regular practice of prayers before meetings and that he would be willing to go to court over the issue.

“I think it’s ridiculous myself,” Barber said of the ACLU’s request Tuesday.

Christians make up a majority in the United States, Barber said. In his eight years on the board, Barber said he has never heard anyone complain about its prayers before meetings.

“We’re going to have a minority tell us we can’t pray?” Barber said, adding that he is not going to pay attention to the ACLU’s warning.

“If they want to challenge it in court, I say challenge it in court,” he said.

Virginia ACLU Legal Director Rebecca K. Glenberg said the organization received an email Friday from someone who attends meetings of the board of supervisors. She declined to reveal the person’s identity.

The county’s practice violates the First Amendment under precedents set in the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Glenberg said.

“Obviously, when people pray as individuals, they may do so in any fashion they choose,” Glenberg wrote in the letter to the Board of Supervisors, citing the court cases Turner v. City Council of City of Fredericksburg and Simpson v. Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors. “But opening prayers at city council (or board of supervisors) meetings are not expressions of individual religious belief; they are official governmental speech.”

During an interview Tuesday, Glenberg said, “This country is founded on the belief that individuals are equal before the government regardless of their religion.”

When a governing body endorses one religion over another, it indicates that the political community values certain people more based on their religion, Glenberg said.

“We urge the board of supervisors to follow these clear legal precedents,” Glenberg wrote. “Perhaps the easiest way to do this would be to eliminate the opening invocation from board of supervisors meetings. “This would ensure that the board is following the Constitution and would prevent the prayers from causing divisiveness along religious lines. Failing that, however, the board must adopt and implement a policy requiring that all opening prayers be nonsectarian — that is, they not advance any particular religion.”

Glenberg would not say what the ACLU would do if the board disregards the organization’s letter.

“We’d have to cross that bridge when we come to it,” Glenberg said.

During the board’s meeting Tuesday night, Supervisor William Pritchett led everyone in a Christian prayer, mentioning Jesus Christ at the end. After Pritchett finished, individual supervisors said their own prayers out loud, with Jesus’ name used.

Callands-Gretna resident George Stanhope said he agreed with the ACLU, adding that supervisors should follow the law

Louie Wyatt, who lives in Chatham-Blairs, was outraged at the ACLU’s letter against the county. Pittsylvania residents are mad at the organization, he said.

“This ain’t California, this ain’t Chicago,” Wyatt said after the meeting.