UPDATE: on the heels of blaming the lack of prayer for gun violence the Alabama Senate has voted 23-3 to amend the state’s constitution in order to allow the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public schools and in other government buildings.
Sen. Gerald Dial, the bill’s sponsor, said, “I believe that if you had the Ten Commandments posted in a prominent place in school, it has the possibility to prohibit some student from taking action to kill other students."
Our view? It won’t stop any school shootings.
Students know that killing is wrong, and it’s incredibly condescending for a legislator to pretend that shooters don't know about the Ten Commandments.
Christian radio host Bryan Fischer says that God allows school shootings like the one that claimed 17 lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, because there is not enough prayer in public schools. Fischer writes:
So, Fischer claims that school prayer could have stopped the Florida school shooting."I suggest we have mass school shootings because we don’t have enough God on our campuses… When tragic school shootings happen, like the one in Florida, everyone sends their “thoughts and prayers” to the families of the victims. But why don’t we pray before these shootings happen instead of waiting until somebody’s dead?Everyone understands that prayer in school is appropriate in the wake of a tragedy like this. But if it’s appropriate after, there’s no reason it’s not appropriate before.We have spent the last 60 years telling God to get lost from our public schools. It should come as no surprise that he’s not around when we need him. We can’t very well blame God for not coming to our aid if we fail to use the tools He has graciously given to us."
Perhaps Fischer forgets that students are free to pray in school anytime they want. The 1963 Supreme Court decision does not prevent anybody from praying in public schools, it only prevents school officials from leading and ultimately coercing prayer as part of the public school curriculum.
