Post by tygerarmy on Apr 26, 2011 22:28:20 GMT -5
Breaking News: Atheists invade Polk County School Board meeting
Close to forty Atheists of Florida members attended tonight’s Polk County School Board meeting. They attended because two of their fellow atheists had been banned from attending these meetings as a result of their not participating in a pre-meeting prayer at the end of February. The Polk County School Board had moved their opening invocation to just prior to the official start of the meeting in order to avoid a lawsuit from the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Rob Curry, former executive director for the Atheists of Florida, said that the purpose of filling the meeting with Atheists was “to show support to our friends and neighbors in Polk County” and to show the school board that they could not intimidate them into silence.
According to Rob, because there were so many atheists sitting in the audience talking amongst themselves board chair Kay Fields was unable to get the audience to be quiet enough for the pre-meeting prayer, which by the board’s own admission is not something audience members are required to participate in. She apparently lightly tapped on her gavel to encourage people to settle down but eventually had to call the meeting to order to start the invocation, thus violating the board’s own policy which is to not include an invocation in their official meetings at all.
Atheists of Florida members remained seated and were quiet during the invocation, which occurred just after the meeting was called to order. They then stood for the Pledge of Allegiance. Rob Curry said that one of the Polk County members who attended and who wishes to remain anonymous commented afterward on how glad she was that she came. She had never remained seated during a prayer before because she had always been intimidated into participating in the prayers even thought she doesn’t believe in them.
Rob Curry, former executive director for the Atheists of Florida, said that the purpose of filling the meeting with Atheists was “to show support to our friends and neighbors in Polk County” and to show the school board that they could not intimidate them into silence.
According to Rob, because there were so many atheists sitting in the audience talking amongst themselves board chair Kay Fields was unable to get the audience to be quiet enough for the pre-meeting prayer, which by the board’s own admission is not something audience members are required to participate in. She apparently lightly tapped on her gavel to encourage people to settle down but eventually had to call the meeting to order to start the invocation, thus violating the board’s own policy which is to not include an invocation in their official meetings at all.
Atheists of Florida members remained seated and were quiet during the invocation, which occurred just after the meeting was called to order. They then stood for the Pledge of Allegiance. Rob Curry said that one of the Polk County members who attended and who wishes to remain anonymous commented afterward on how glad she was that she came. She had never remained seated during a prayer before because she had always been intimidated into participating in the prayers even thought she doesn’t believe in them.
