Later this month, the Forsyth County (NC) Board of Commissioners will vote on whether to appeal a federal district court's ruling that the distinctly Christian prayers opening their meetings violate the First Amendment. And while it seems to me likely destined to become just a donation of sorts to the ACLU, money has been raised to help pay for the appeal, should the Board decide to proceed.
Commissioner Dave Plyler, the board's chairman and swing vote on the issue, will meet with the leader of a local citizens group to see whether an agreement can be reached that would give the county financial support for the appeal.
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At a news conference yesterday, Steve Corts, the chairman of the N.C. Partnership for Religious Liberty, announced that his local group has collected $100,000 in pledges toward an appeal, in addition to $55,000 that the group has in money.
A board meeting scheduled for Feb. 22 will determine the next step. And I suppose it will be tempting to take a stab at it, especially if somebody else is paying the bill. Still, when was the last time a federal appeals court upheld the right of a government meeting to officially begin with consistently sectarian prayer?
