In this country, one cannot be simultaneously a theocrat and a patriot. Pray all you like, but state-sponsored prayer and other indication of religious preference by any government entity is expressly forbidden in the United States. If you want to live in a country where prayer is sanctioned by the government and led in schools, etc., there are other countries that suit you far better than this one. Saudi Arabia, for example. Or perhaps you were prefer Libya, Somalia, or Pakistan? I understand Morocco is nice, too.

It is logic that should win the day. Are we as taxpayers to spend money that we need to spend on children's books, teachers, counseling, heating and electric bills for schools, or will some insist on attempting to bring prayers into public schools? Numerous such efforts have been thrown out by the courts. Who will win in such an effort - Of course it will be established case law, and the attorneys that that are highered by DeSoto County to fight any lawsuit that will be the inevitable result of insisting on prayer. The attorneys will laugh all the way to the bank. It isn't the (genuine conviction or false piety?) Governor who will have to pay up - or would he be willing to pay out of his own pocket and avoid burdening the taxpayers who are of all faiths, and none. I see that the FFRF.org web site has some very interesting examples cited of governments wasting money to push prayers on students of all faiths, and none, ultimatley to lose. Some may speak to a decline in morals and behavior since prayer has been taken out of schools (a long-standing Supreme Court decision), but if we look at countries with no childhood behavior problems at all - do take this tongue in cheek - such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan under the Taliban, I notice they have a commonality of Islam. However, the rates of academic accomplishments are quite high in Finland, Denmark, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The commonality - no school prayer. And besides that, very low rates of gun violence, teenage pregnancies, or problems with school violdence, certainly compared with Mississippi. Let anyone who wants to pray as part of the school day attend a Christian school as I did, if their parents care to pay, and the child can get accepted. Otherwise, we are all far better off by keeping the government out of religion, and religion out of government.

The Flying Spaghetti Monster answers all my prayers - will they be praying to the FSM, or to that horrible creature described in the Christian Bible?

UnoHoo, the whole idea of the bill of rights is to prevent a local majority (or even a national majority) from requiring or demanding that minorities sit down and shut up. That's what freedom of speech is about. Similarly, the Bill of Rights prevents one religion from forcing the rest of us who don't believe in that religion to have to either participate in a ritual with which we disagree or be singled out as "godless amoral less patriotic" citizens by refusing to participate. This issue was debated by the founding fathers and the resolution was the idea of separation of church and state. If you want to pray, no one is stopping you. If you want a government official to lead you in prayer, that is clearly illegal. Go to a church if you want to be lead in prayer. Go to school if you want to learn something. Read the Constitution and the Bill of Rights if you somehow managed to skip over that because your teachers were illegally pushing the "USA was established as a christian nation" LIE instead of teaching the actual history of the USA. The USA was for most of its history the greatest country in the world, drawing the best and brightest from all over the world, precisely because it was the only country which explicitly put religion in its place -- in churches, not in government.

if a government official at any level leads or promotes a christian prayer in his/her official capacity, that is establishing christianity as the preferred religion... how is that not a violation of the first amendment? The Governor in this case is acting as if he is the leader of a separate country, not as a governor of a state within the United States.

That's correct, we should even let the Muslims come in and pray their prayer in front of our kids. Maybe even get a Scientologist in as well and let them pray to the God Xenu. Then when we complain that we don't want our kids praying or listening to prayers of the Muslims and to Xenu, they can tell us to shut our yaps. Spot on UnoHoo.

For those who are opposed; DON'T pray! Keep your yap shut, unless you are an easily offended, whiney, exuse for a man!(or woman).....

Vouchers!

Totally agree with the Governor, That is what is wrong with our kids today,,NO GOD. These children need as much prayer as they can get considering all the evil that is slithering just outside their schools..amen Governor Bryant..