Vote: What's your view on school prayer in Rhode Island school? (Jessica Ahlquist)

[COLGATE4]

40. I have to admit -

you've totally lost me. I understood we were talking about the legality of a banner (the so called "Class Memorial Gift&quot placed in a school which embodied nothing more than a prayer, starting with "Dear God" and ending "Amen" and the question as to whether it was permissible under the First Amendment. My point was that I believed it should be removed as constituting an impermissible endorsement of religion by a government institution, period. I also understood you were assuming that, since this (or something similar) was a gift by the students that this somehow immunized it from First Amendment scrutiny. In answer to your new hypothetical about the 'Buy a brick' campaign, again it would depend on the message on the brick meeting the five criteria set forth by the Supreme Court in Lemon. Probably much 'iffier' than the prayer banner to which I responded.

And no, the topic doesn't make me angry - we attorneys have a saying that 'arguing legal issues with a non lawyer is like trying to teach a pig to sing - it doesn't get you anywhere and you just irritate the pig'.