Opinion: Support of religious intolerance

A Times Editorial

Support of religious intolerance

White Republican and black Democratic legislators in Tallahassee don't agree on much, but they have come together on the issue of religious intolerance.

Most of them support it.

That odd coalition recently passed a bill promoting prayer at public high school graduation ceremonies and other supposedly non-compulsory school assemblies. African-American Democrats, such as Rep. Frank Peterman of St. Petersburg, voted with local Republicans such as Frank Farkas to make sure one of the most important days in the life of a student could be marred by religious coercion.

The bill, HB 667, passed the House by an overwhelming vote of 88 to 28. Its provisions try to take advantage of the tiny, largely untested loopholes the courts have opened to allow formal prayer at public school functions.

The U.S. Supreme Court has specifically prohibited student-initiated prayer at public school sporting events. It also has ruled that prayer given by a member of the clergy at a public school graduation ceremony is a violation of the Establishment Clause. However, in a case out of Duval County, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit last year approved a School Board policy allowing a student-led, student-initiated "senior message" at graduation proceedings -- a message that more often than not turns out to be a prayer. The court said that because the message is not edited or modified by school personnel, it is an exercise in student free speech. The Supreme Court let the ruling stand without comment.

The Legislature's prayer bill seeks to track this ruling but ultimately fails in ways that should make it unconstitutional. First, the bill authorizes local school boards to approve "invocations" or "benedictions" at graduation. Those terms clearly carry a religious connotation far beyond Duval County's "senior message." Then, the bill requires the prayers to be "nonsectarian and nonproselytizing in nature." But by dictating the parameters of the students' inspirational message, the government is directing its content, thereby removing it from the protections of student free speech outlined in the Duval case. Any prayer that follows is no longer merely a students' words but those of the state as well.

The legislators who voted for this bill don't seem to care about the students in their districts who are Jewish, Buddhist or of other minority religions. To them, it is more important to pander to the majority faith and look for any device to shove religion onto a program that is supposed to mark the culmination of a secular education. Particularly distressing is that so many African-American legislators -- men and women who should understand the sting of being marginalized -- have put their name to this bill. They should be ashamed.

Here is a list of state representatives from our region who voted "yes" on HB 667:

Nancy Argenziano, R-Dunnellon; David Russell Jr., R-Brooksville; Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey; Heather Fiorentino, R-New Port Richey; Rob Wallace, R-Tampa; Gus Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor; Larry Crow, R-Palm Harbor; Kim Berfield, R-Clearwater; Leslie Waters, R-Seminole, (voted after roll call); Frank Farkas, R-St. Petersburg; John Carassas, R-Belleair; Frank Peterman D-St. Petersburg; Sandra "Sandy" Murmam, R-Tampa; Chris Hart, R-Tampa; Sara Romeo, D-Lutz, (voted after roll call); Ken Littlefield, R-Dade City; Johnnie Byrd, R-Plant City.

Floridians who believe our founders had foresight by establishing church-state separation should remember this vote on Election Day.