The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners will have a moment of silence during its Monday meeting instead of a public prayer.
Judge James A. Beaty Jr. of U.S. District Court recently ruled that the county cannot allow prayers with sectarian content before meetings. Beaty said that the county could choose to have no prayer or a nonsectarian prayer instead.
"I will ask for a moment of silence and then ask a member of the board of commissioners to proceed with the Pledge of Allegiance," said Commissioner Dave Plyler, the chairman of the board. "That would be in keeping with the judge's order."
The county was sued in 2007 by citizens who said that the county was promoting Christianity because most of the opening invocations mentioned Jesus. The county's prayer policy allowed clergy from any faith to present a prayer on a first-come, first-served basis.
The American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State backed the citizens who sued.
Plyler is considered the swing vote on a board that is otherwise evenly split between those who would appeal Beaty's order and those who would let the matter drop. Plyler says he is willing to appeal if citizens backing the county's prayer policy agree in writing to pay any legal bills.
A national Christian organization, the Alliance Defense Fund, is giving the county free legal help. Plyler said he insists that local supporters promise financial support because the ADF won't pay the ACLU's expenses, should the county ultimately lose.
Commissioner Debra Conrad, who supports an appeal, said that Plyler's stance has some citizens on her side of the issue "a little discouraged" because it looks as if Plyler is demanding a blank check.
"No one on the board has ever advocated that we use county money," Conrad said, adding that she has been making phone calls to raise support for an appeal.
Commissioners are expected to meet with their attorneys on Thursday. They may learn before that meeting how much the ACLU wants in legal fees. The ACLU has estimated those fees at $100,000 -- double that, if the county appeals and loses in appellate court.
Steve Weston, the president of the local chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said that his group hasn't lobbied the county board since the judge's ruling.
"We feel that we have done pretty much all that we can do," Weston said. "It is in the hands of the county commissioners, and it is their responsibility at this point. We have always been concerned about the tyranny of the majority and that is what the First Amendment is set up to avoid."
Commissioners have been getting a lot of e-mails from people urging them to appeal, along with a smaller number supporting the federal court's ruling. The letters show that feelings remain strong on the issue, both on and off the board.
To Commissioner Walter Marshall, who has opposed fighting the prayer lawsuit, the talk of "majority rule" that he reads in e-mails is troublesome.
"It is hard to argue against prayer, but this is not an issue about prayer alone," Marshall said.
He said he sees among religious conservatives "the same folks who are against me getting the right to vote and desegregating the public schools."
State Sen. Pete Brunstetter, R-Forsyth, is a former Forsyth County commissioner and board chairman, and someone who has worked with Plyler. Brunstetter said he has been trying to persuade Plyler to support an appeal, even if it does cost the county money.
"I think this is an important constitutional issue," Brunstetter said. "When the county is sued it is the county's obligation to defend the suit. By turning to certain private benefactors to fund litigation expenses, the county is saying this lawsuit does not really belong to the taxpayers."
But Plyler said that "the Christian community" and not the government should "fight the ACLU."
"All I need is a promise that the taxpayers won't pay a dime," Plyler said.
wyoung@wsjournal.com | 727-7369
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