Congress & Protecting Prayer

There's growing controversy as the National Day of Prayer approaches on May 6th.  We've told you about the Pentagon rescinding its invitation for Franklin Graham to participate in a prayer event at the Pentagon.  And now there's a call for Congressional hearings to get to the bottom of this outrageous reaction after a complaint from an anti-Christian group.

At the same time, we continue to add more members of Congress to our amicus brief that will support the government's challenge of a federal district court decision declaring the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional.

In an effort to get to the facts on why the U.S. military gave into pressure from an anti-Christian group and pulled the plug on an invitation made to Franklin Graham to participate in a National Day of Prayer event at the Pentagon, there's a call for Congressional hearings from Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) to get to the bottom of what happened.

Rep. Kingston, a member of the defense subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, called the move "political correctness" and said he wants to find out why the invitation was so quickly rescinded.

"I am concerned about it," Rep. Kingston said. "It shows that the Pentagon is using a systematic practice of weeding out preachers and leaders of the clergy who are willing to give biblically-based messages and sermons. . ."

That's why we are supporting Rep. Kingston's efforts. If there is anywhere that our First Amendment rights should be honored and protected, its within the confines of our military.  Given the events of the last couple of weeks, the American people deserve answers about the questionable manner in which Rev. Graham was treated.  These hearings should happen soon in both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, and they should focus on direct answers about this situation, as well as what is being done to ensure that it doesnt happen again in the future.

And as this unfolds, there's new pressure being applied to dis-invite Franklin Graham from the National Day of Prayer event on Capitol Hill.   This from the Muslim activist group - Council on American-Islamic Relations. 

A spokesman for Rep. Robert Aderholt, (R-AL), a member of the Congressional Prayer Caucus and the sponsor for the last two years of the congressional National Day of Prayer observance, said he will not rescind Rev. Graham's invitation.

And now the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which brought the initial suit challenging the constitutionality of the National Day of Prayer, is pressuring the U.S. State Department and the Pentagon to cancel the prayer events scheduled for May 6th.

All of this stems from the recent federal district court ruling out of Wisconsin - where a federal judge declared the time-honored National Day of Prayer unconstitutional.

And that is why our legal work is so important.  We're preparing an amicus brief supporting the Justice Department's appeal of this flawed ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals to the Seventh Circuit.  And as we prepare an aggressive amicus brief, we continue to add names to our brief.  We have already heard from 50 members of Congress - Democrats and Republicans alike - who want to be represented in this appeal.  We've also heard from tens of thousands of Americans who have joined our Committee to Protect the National Day of Prayer, which will be represented in the brief as well.

This is an important time in our country.  Stand with the ACLJ in this fight.  Add your name to our Letter of Protest urging President Obama to re-invite Franklin Graham to take part in the Pentagon prayer event.  Add your name now.

We'll continue to keep you posted on this situation through our website and our daily radio broadcast, Jay Sekulow Live!