The Hawaii state Senate has voted to no longer hold a daily prayer.
What’s amazing is how Hawaii is only the first state to do this.
And what prompted this decision? One person’s complaint about how this was a Christian-specific prayer, not an “all-inclusive” prayer like so many city councils and state legislatures pretend to use.
A citizen’s complaint had prompted the American Civil Liberties Union last summer to send the Senate a letter noting that its invocations often referenced Jesus Christ, contravening the separation of church and state.
That prompted the state attorney general’s office to advise the Senate that their handling of prayers — by inviting speakers from various religions to preach before every session — wouldn’t survive a likely court challenge, said Democratic Majority Leader Brickwood Galuteria.
This is not anti-religion. This is about keeping government and religion separate, just as it should be, and just as the Constitution demands it to be.
Of course, Christian groups are complaining. As far as I can tell, no non-Christian group opposes this measure. It’s just an admission that the prayers were directed at the Christian god only:
“They (the ACLU) continue to threaten governments with lawsuits to try to force them into capitulating to their view of society,” said Brett Harvey, an attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund, made up of Christian lawyers to defend free faith speech. “Governments should take a stand for this cherished historical practice.”
“Their view of society”?
You mean the one that follows the law? The one that defends the Constitution? The one that shows respect for people of all faiths and no faith?
Yeah… clearly, the ACLU hates America.
Republican state Senator Sam Slom wants to keep the prayer intact for a ridiculous reason:
“As intelligent as we may be, we can still call on someone higher to help us and guide us.”
You can… but no one’s going to listen.
Maybe if you spent more time figuring out what would help your constituents and less time talking to the air, you’d be guided in the right direction.
I think a lot of thanks go to people like Mitch Kahle, who risked jailtime for protesting the illegal prayers — he was found not guilty of disorderly conduct last month.

Now that we know the complaints and protests work, let’s get rid of Christian prayers and faux-secular invocations in all the other states, too.