ACLU sues Pittsylvania County over prayer

After weeks of controversy over the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors praying at meetings, the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia filed a lawsuit against the county Monday.

The ACLU said having Christian prayer during open meetings violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

“The courts have consistently held that the government may never use its power to promote one set of religious beliefs over other,” said ACLU of Virginia Executive Director Kent Willis in a news release. “For this reason formal prayers offered at legislative meetings must be broad and inclusive, and must not refer to specific religion.”

The lawsuit is filed on behalf of an anonymous plaintiff who had contacted the ACLU about the supervisors’ practice of praying during their meetings. She is referred to as “Jane Doe” in the legal papers and, according the ACLU’s news release, is a Pittsylvania County citizen who regularly attends board of supervisors meetings.

On Aug. 16, the ACLU wrote a letter to the board of supervisors asking them to stop opening meetings with prayer that “explicitly refer to Jesus Christ.”

However, the board did not comply with the request.

“At its meeting the same day that the board received the ACLU’s letter, board members offered five separate sectarian prayers,” the ACLU release stated.

On Monday, Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors Chairman Tim Barber said he is still not giving up his prayers at the meeting.

“We are going to fight it as hard as we can,” said Barber. “We tried everything we could to show it was legal.”

The board recently adopted a resolution stating the prayers would no longer be on the agenda and would take place before the official meeting. Barber said he consulted several attorneys and state officials before passing the resolution.

But ACLU legal director Rebecca Glenberg said the change was just “cosmetic” and did not affect the legality of the issue because the invocation is still an official government prayer.

“They are just picking on the little guy,” said Barber who argued people pray at a lot of government meetings. “They filed the lawsuit but they didn’t even name a defendant… I don’t think it’s fair to the citizens. How do we know the ACLU isn’t making up a name?”

Barber said that the board has been praying for years without any complaints and he will continue to for their “right to pray.”

County Administrator Dan Sleeper said that the only way he knew the county was being sued was from the ACLU’s letter, but the western district court, which would officially notify the county, had not sent anything as of 4 p.m. Monday.

The next step, he said, would be for the board to discuss the lawsuit in closed session, including discussing a legal defense fund. Several attorneys have offered their services for free to the county already.

The ACLU is only suing for legal fees and seeks no other monetary funds, according to Sleeper.

“The worst thing that can happen is they make us stop praying,” said Barber.