Saturday, 13 June 2009
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PRAYER . . . GIVEN ENOUGH TIME, EVEN IT HAS A PRAYER IN THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL BUILDING
From April 2000.
From which we conclude that the constitutional right to pray in public places really is as plain as the nose on a federal judge's face.
(Washington, DC)--When Reverend Pierre Bynum led a small group of church goers on a tour of the United States Capitol, he never expected to be threatened with arrest, or to become the subject of an article in the National Enquirer, or to need the assistance of a federal court to guarantee his right to pray in our Nation's Capitol building. What Reverend Bynum did not expect, however, became a reality in November 1996, when United States Capitol Police officers threatened to arrest him and his tour group if they engaged in quiet, conversational prayer as part of their tour of the Capitol.
Ultimately, the unexpected onslaught -- led by Capitol police officers against prayer by private citizens in the United States Capitol -- led to litigation in the United States District Court in Washington, DC. When Truthserum's alter ego filed suit on behalf of Reverend Bynum, litigation really was a last resort, coming only after a half year of ultimately unsuccesful negotiation to secure Pastor Bynum's rights.
The pertinent details of the controversy have been laid out in a previous edition of Truthserum's Thoughts, and in testimony by Truthserum's alter ego before the Constitution Subcommittee of the House Committee on the Judiciary. Pastor Bynum, his wife and their children sat in a federal courtroom in September 1997 and watched as attorneys argued the question of his right to pray in the Capitol building. Now, nearly three years after Bynum's lawsuit was filed, federal Judge Paul Friedman has issued a final judgment Order and an accompanying Opinion, in which Judge Friedman rules in Pastor Bynum's behalf on his federal lawsuit.
Judge Friedman decided all the factual questions in favor of Pastor Bynum. That result is not surprising because the Government never disputed Pastor Bynum's claim that he had only engaged in quiet, conversational prayer and that Bynum's tour group did not disturb others or obstruct passage in the Capitol. The judge agreed with Pastor Bynum that the Capitol Police Board's enforcement of an unwritten ban on prayer in the Capitol was unreasonable, as well as unconstitutionally vague. Finally, Judge Friedman concluded that Pastor Bynum was entitled to judgment on his claims.
In addition to deciding the factual and legal questions favorably to Pastor Bynum, Judge Friedman also issued a permanent injunction against the United States Capitol Police Board and the United States Capitol Police. In particular, he barred the Government from interfering with Pastor Bynum when he prays as part of his tours of the Capitol building. Also, he ordered the Government not to interfere with "the discrete act of bowing one's head, closing one's eyes, and folding one's hands" as part of prayer activities in the Capitol. Finally, he prohibited the Government from enforcing any restriction on First Amendment-protected conduct in the Capitol building.
Long in coming, the decision protecting Pastor Bynum's right to pray in the Capitol is all the more sweet. Today we thank God for working through the court, when we had no success convincing the Republican controlled House and Senate leadership to instruct their Capitol Police Board to stop interfering with prayer in the Capitol. All in all, Truthserum thinks, an excellent outcome for Pastor Bynum, who, with Truthserum, expressed great thanks and praise to God for the victory.
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