A prayer debate sparked a student-planned protest in one part of the Tri-Cities region Friday night. At the center of the argument: a prayer delivered by a student over the public address system before a Gate City High School football game back in September.
Last month, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney out of Virginia sent a letter to the high school stating "a concerned parent advised us that Gate City High football games are regularly opened with a Christian prayer...that such practice is unconstitutional and it should cease immediately."
At the center of that prayer, junior Tori Bowen. When Bowen prayed in Jesus' name over the public address system at a high school football game, she had no idea her words would cause such a stir. "We did it as a nice gesture to Sullivan South, and I think God's been really good to our community... I was like, oh gosh, I didn't think it would be an issue at all," said Bowen.
Several Friday's later, she stands behind her words. "I've actually had a peace about it...that I think God's given me, that it's ok to be for Him, and it's ok to stand up for what I believe," said Bowen. Even if the ACLU calls her public prayer unconstitutional.
"The U.S. Supreme Court had ruled specifically that you cannot give a prayer, particularly a sectarian prayer over a high school address system at a high school football game," said Kent Willis, Executive Director of of ACLU Virginia. In response to the ACLU's criticism, three of Tori's classmates at Gate City got together and designed a tee-shirt.
One of those students, senior Evan DeBoard. "We just want people to know that we do stand for Jesus, and everybody wearing these shirts stands for Jesus," said DeBoard.
The students sold 800 of the tee-shirts that read "I still pray, in Jesus name, amen," to community members and fellow students. They plan to wear them to Friday's game.
"We're not going to let anybody tell us where we can pray, cuz we're going to pray and we're going to pray in Jesus name, cuz that's how prayers are supposed to be done
This time, the ACLU backs the students, stating that the U.S. Supreme Court backs their Constitutional right to demonstrate. "So the students, if they're organized on their own, it's not promoted by the school or anyway endorsed by the school, they have a right of free speech as long as that speech doesn't disrupt the educational process," said Willis.
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