A complaint that began when an official at a VA-run cemetery in Houston barred a minister from invoking Christ at a Memorial Day ceremony (a judge ruled that the prohibition was improper and government officials removed their objection) has grown into more sweeping claims of unconstitutional contstraints on religious speech.
The Houston Chronicle reports that attorneys for Liberty Institute have amended their lawsuit.
Barring volunteers from saying "God bless you" at burial ceremonies, as this complaint alleges, would seem to be a questionable decision, and surely isn't mandated by the First Amendment. The court has ruled consistently that the government may consecrate solemn events with the invocation of a deity without violating the separation of church and state. But is the speech of volunteers at such an event private speech or government speech? Can the government write the script?
