Mayor orders man removed after he didn't stand for Pledge of Allegiance

[Ms. Toad]

121. Not sure where you're getting anything about standing or leaving for the prayer

What I did was draw a contrast between the mayor's treatment of the portion that was expressly religious (he "allowed" the man to remain seated) and his treatment of the portion that is not expressly religious (as interpreted by the Supreme Court) - he gave the man a choice - stand, or leave. Because he treated the prayer differently than the non-prayer, the mayor's demand was directed to forced political speech, not establishment of religion.

The Greece decision was not a generally applicable prayer-is-ok-at-all meetings decision. What I am saying is that FFRF was almost certainly involved before the publicized violation of free speech, and was likely supporting his broader, underlying, request to change the way the town opens its meetings. Depending on how the prayer is structured, it may not meet the standards of Greece - and I suspect that is the source of their involvement. They likely believe it does not meet the standards.

What I have been discussing is the clear violation of free speech that recently occurred in forcing the individual to choose between standing and leaving the meeting..