Judge hears suit over Tangipahoa’s school board prayer policy

WWLTV (AP):

J. Michael Johnson, a lawyer for the board, questioned the couple’s motives for asking to give an invocation if they are offended by the prayer policy.

“You can’t have it both ways,” said Johnson, also an attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian civil rights group. “It’s like saying, ‘I hate chocolate, pass me a Hershey bar.”‘

In court papers, Johnson said a U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the Nebraska Legislature’s prayer policy established that “prayers offered at the start of government meetings are an essential part of American culture and in no way a violation of the Constitution.” Johnson said the parish’s policy was tailored to fit that ruling.