It was a crime spree in Ocala, Florida, several years back that left multiple children injured in shootings, and although police knew the identities of the alleged shooters, they were unable to convince witnesses to come forward.
So the chief, the late Greg Graham, listened to a recommendation from the NAACP that the community hold a private prayer event with the goal of obtaining statements that would allow the appropriate prosecutions.
With that goal, several individuals in the community set up the meeting, and Graham encouraged the attempt to obtain justice.
But now the American Center for Law and Justice is at an appeals court seeking to overturn a lower court’s claim that “government officials can no longer encourage citizens to pray amid a difficult time in their community, and volunteer chaplains can no longer lead those in their community in a time of prayer.”
The ACLU said recently its opening brief in the fight has been filed at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
“Time and again, the Supreme Court has upheld government involvement in and/or association with prayer including legislative prayer, prayer in the military, prayers offered by chaplains, and calls to prayer following a crime spree or other tragic event,” the ACLJ explained.
For instance, in one decision the high court found: “[T]he Establishment Clause permits a nondiscriminatory practice of prayer at the beginning of a town council session” and “Simply having religious content or promoting a message consistent with a religious doctrine does not run afoul of the Establishment Clause.”
Beyond that issue, which should be able to be resolved easily, the ACLJ said another factor is that atheists who complained about the effort to crack down on crime claimed no other injury but being offended.
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And specifically, their offense is “self-inflicted.”
“The plaintiffs testified that they opposed prayer but attended the community prayer vigil in order to observe the prayer. No one required them to attend the vigil – in fact, they were quite free to avoid it – so why should it be the fault of anyone else if they were offended?” the ACLJ said. “As Supreme Court Justice Gorsuch reiterated just last year, ‘[t]he presence of a disagreement, however sharp and acrimonious it may be, is insufficient by itself to meet Art. III’s [standing] requirements.'”
After the NAACP suggested a prayer effort, a vigil was planned and organized by private citizens, including volunteer chaplains and more.
The organizers requested, and obtained, a statement from Graham encouraging unity.
He also responded to those who later became plaintiffs that he was not allowed to cancel the private event. And his statement was similar to others he had issued encouraging resident to attend others events in the city.
The plaintiffs in the case include Daniel and Lucinda Hale, and court records show they “had never attended any other public gathering in the public square in Ocala.”
They said the “wanted” to attend to observe, “not because they wanted to participate in the vigil.”
The ACLJ explained, “The plaintiffs sought out what they perceived would be offensive conduct and attended for the sole purpose of viewing that allegedly offensive conduct in order to bring suit. Such conduct on the part of a plaintiff constitutes an attempt to manufacture standing that cannot satisfy [constitutional] jurisdictional requirements.”
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Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay. Article cross-posted from WND.
Will America-First News Outlets Make it to 2023?
Things are looking grim for conservative and populist news sites.
There’s something happening behind the scenes at several popular conservative news outlets. 2021 was bad, but 2022 is proving to be disastrous for news sites that aren’t “playing ball” with the corporate media narrative. It’s being said that advertisers are cracking down, forcing some of the biggest ad networks like Google and Yahoo to pull their inventory from conservative outlets. This has had two major effects. First, it has cooled most conservative outlets from discussing “taboo” topics like Pandemic Panic Theater, voter fraud, or The Great Reset. Second, it has isolated those ad networks that aren’t playing ball.
Certain topics are anathema for most ad networks. Speaking out against vaccines or vaccine mandates is a certain path to being demonetized. Highlighting voter fraud in the 2020 and future elections is another instant advertising death penalty. Throw in truthful stories about climate change hysteria, Critical Race Theory, and the border crisis and it’s easy to understand how difficult it is for America-First news outlets to spread the facts, share conservative opinions, and still pay the bills.
Without naming names, I have been told of several news outlets who have been forced to either consolidate with larger organizations or who have backed down on covering certain topics out of fear of being “canceled” by the ad networks. I get it. This is a business for many of us and it’s not very profitable. Those of us who do this for a living are often barely squeaking by, so loss of additional revenue can often mean being forced to make cuts. That means not being able to cover the topics properly. Its a Catch-22: Tell the truth and lose the money necessary to keep telling the truth, or avoid the truth and make enough money to survive. Those who have chosen survival simply aren’t able to spread the truth properly.
We will never avoid the truth. The Lord will provide if it is His will. Our job is simply to share the facts, spread the Gospel, and educate as many Americans as possible while exposing the forces of evil.
To those who have the means, we ask that you please donate. We have options available now, but there is no telling when those options will cancel us. We have our GivingFuel page. There have been many who have been canceled by PayPal, but for now it’s still an option. Your generosity is what keeps these sites running and allows us to get the truth to the masses. We’ve had great success in growing but we know we can do more with your assistance.
Thank you, and God Bless!
JD Rucker