Texas Parents Sue Governor, School District Over Moment of Silence

A Texas family is suing Gov. Rick Perry and a school district over a state-mandated moment of silence in schools,according to The DallasMorning News.David Wallace Croft and his wife, Shannon, of Carrollton, Texas,have three children at Rosemeade Elementary and argue that the moment of silence is unconstitutional and amounts to state-sanctioned school prayer.The couple has a history of complaints against religious affiliated words and images in schools, having previously complained about Boy Scout rallies held during school, fliers sent home about Good News Bible Club meetings and the inclusion of "Silent Night" and a Hanukkah song in holiday concerts, according to report.Krista Moody,a spokeswoman for Perry,said the moment of silence law that the Crofts filed a suit against on March 1, 2006 was passed in 2003 and calls for students to observe a moment of silence after reciting pledges to the U.S. and Texas flags each day."The governor is certainly in favor of allowing students and faculty to quietly reflect on what they chose," Moody told FOXNews.com.Moody said the beauty behind the freedom of the law is children get to do with the moment what they wish.There are no guidelines behind the silence.Ted Cruz, solicitor general for Texas, who represented Perry at a federal district court hearing on Tuesday, said the Crofts are arguing specifically that every moment of silence statute in the country is unconstitutional, and even if that first point is not correct, they further argue any statute that mentions the word "pray" is unconstitutional.There are currently 25 states that have moment of silence statutes.Thirteen of them explicitly specify prayer as an option the child can choose.The Crofts are citing a case from the 1980s that struck down a moment of silence statute in Alabama."That argument is contrary to binding U.S. Supreme Court
precedent,"Cruz told FOXNews.com.Cruz said the Texas law is virtually identical to a Virginia state law that was unanimously held up in the federal court of appeals in 2001.The Supreme Court later declined to review that case. He said in initiating the current law,the Texas legislature has acted to protect the freedom of conscience of every child."The First Amendment was drafted to protect the religious liberty of everyone,not to express hostility to matters of faith,"he told FOXNews.com.Cruz said the federal court heard arguments on the matter Tuesday and would decide the case in about a month.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,292619,00.html
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