Virginia's 'Minute of Silence' Law Stands
CNSNews.com
Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2001
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to interfere with a Virginia law requiring a moment of silence in the commonwealth's government schools.
The justices rejected a challenge to that law, dashing the hopes of American Civil Liberties Union, which argued against it. According to ACLU, the law was "enacted specifically to facilitate and encourage school prayer."
The Virginia law, however, says students may meditate, pray or do whatever they want for one minute, as long as they keep quiet. They must be silent, but they are not required to pray, and therefore state lawmakers were confident the law did not abridge the Constitution's "establishment of religion" clause.
American Center for Law and Justice, which defended the Virginia law in court, issued a statement Monday saying it was very pleased with the Supreme Court's action.
"The Court's refusal to enter this case is a proper and sound decision," said Jay Sekulow, ACLJ's chief counsel. He predicted that other states may now follow Virginia's lead by adopting similar "moment of silence" laws.
"The Supreme Court's refusal to hear Brown v. Gilmore is a victory for Virginia, and other state legislatures should copy Virginia's statute. Whether it's a minute kids spend in meditation, prayer or any other silent activity, it should be helpful in setting the right tone for the school day," said Research Council President Ken Connor in a statement Monday.
Copyright CNSNews.com
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
School Choice
A product that might interest you:
Watch Your Kids - Monitor Use on Your Computer
