School Prayer - To Pray or Not To Pray??

An 8th grader in New York, wanted to offer a prayer during a school sanctioned activity.  She was barred by school officials from doing so.  She, in turn, sued to protect her First Amendment right.  Her claim was dismissed.  A federal court decided that censoring the prayer was reasonable.

On the flipside:  A 16 year old in Rhode Island sued the school to have an 8 foot prayer mural removed from the high school auditorium wall.  She was successful.

My opinion:  School prayers will continue to be a touchy constitutional subject.  I have a right to choose my own religion, or to choose no religion.  This freedom is very important to me.  I want to be respected and allowed to honor my beliefs.  I also want to respect others and allow them to honor thier beliefs.  If I want to pray while in school, I should be able to pray.  But should others who don't believe in prayer have to listen to the prayer?  I don't think they should.  I think a moment of silence is appropriate at certain times to allow those wanting to pray, pray silently.

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/01/the-devilish-details-of-school-prayer/252197/

Is it lawful to monitor GPS without search warrant?

This issue went all the way to the Supreme Court.  The fourth Amendment  states, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated."  The Supreme Court ruled that secretly placing a GPS unit on a vehicle, as well as monitoring that unit, without a search warrant denied the alledged criminal the very right that the fourth Amendment protects.  The evidence collected from this type of search becomes inadmissable.

My view point on this issue is mixed.  I want the criminal caught and the GPS may be the most cost effective and secretive way of gathering intel on a subject, rather than paying someone to tail his for many days.  I also don't want my right of privacy and my right to a search and seizure, only when it is reasonable, to be taken away. 


http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/23/justice/scotus-gps-tracking/index.html?iref=allsearch