Another setback in Virginia prayer hassle

FREDERICKBURG, Va., July 24 (UPI) -- A member of the Fredericksburg, Va., City Council has received another setback in his squabble over prayer at open council meetings.

Hashmel Turner argues that prayers aren't government speech and therefore protected by the U.S. Constitution's freedom of speech. Turner wants to invoke the name of Jesus Christ in his opening prayers but the council took the matter to court after the American Civil Liberties Union threatened suit and an non-denominational policy was devised. Turner appealed.

An opinion written by former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, sitting in on the case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, upheld the earlier court ruling against Turner, The Freelance-Star newspaper in Fredericksburg reported.

O'Connor's brief said Turner wasn't forced to offer a prayer that violated his "deeply held religious beliefs.

"Instead, he was given the chance to pray on behalf of government. Turner was unwilling to do so" in the method suggested, "but, remains free to pray on his own behalf, in non-governmental endeavors, in the manner dictated by his conscience."