ACLU fights sectarian prayer in Statehouse

INDIANAPOLIS – The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana is asking a federal appeals court to reconsider a decision that would allow the return of sectarian prayers in the state House of Representatives.\nThe agency’s legal director, Ken Falk, said the agency is asking for a hearing before the full U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. A panel of judges ruled 2-1 last month that the taxpayers who sued over the prayers did not have the legal standing to do so.\nFalk says the ACLU is arguing that the court incorrectly applied a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision to the case.\nA federal judge ruled in 2005 that prayers mentioning Jesus Christ or using terms such as savior amounted to state endorsement of a religion.