Hearing on MO constitutional amendment on prayer

Tomorrow (Tues. Jan. 26) a Missouri Senate committee will hold a hearing on the proposed constitutional amendment regarding prayer (SJR 31).

At that hearing, the president of the St. Louis Chapter will distribute a letter written by the state legislative counsel for Americans United, detailing the problems with the legislation. Among these are that:

* The legislation does not adequately account for the fact that the free speech of government employees, while speaking in the context of their employment, are "somewhat diminished" because they are speaking on behalf of the state.

* The legislation "does not acknowledge constitutional limits on legislative prayer," such as the requirement that prayers be nonsectarian.

* The "proposed amendment may undermine efforts to achieve interfaith understanding."