Attorney Gregory Lippor Speaks on Town of Greece vs Galloway and Stephens Case

<p>[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"drupalimc_large","fid":"9156","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","typeof":"foaf:Image"}}]]</p><p>Gregory Lipper, attorney for Americans United for Separation of Church and State<br>speaks in Rochester, NY, on 6/5/13.&nbsp; Mr. Lipper spoke on the case Town of Greece vs Galloway and Stephens, which will be argued in the U.S. Supreme Court later in 2013.</p><p>Mr. Lipper spoke on how this is a case about the advancement of religion by the town of Greece, NY., which is in direct violation of the 1st Amendment of the constitution of the United States, in particular the establishment clause.</p><p>Galloway and Stephens, both town of Greece residents, did not immediately file a lawsuit against the Town of Greece, but tried to handle the issue directly.&nbsp; They tried to meet with the supervisor and thought they had an appointment with him, but when they went to the meeting the Supervisors underlings were there, Chief of Staff&nbsp;- Jeffery McCann and Constituent Services Director-Kathryn Firkins.&nbsp; Where upon Galloway and Stephens were told they could just not listen to the prayer or leave.&nbsp; Since the towns reponse was unsatisfactory, the two residents than solicited help from Americans United for Separation of Church and State, who <span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1371098106135_9191" style="letter-spacing:0.0px;">wrote a letter to the Town on their behalf, asking the Town to replace the Christian prayers with nondenominational ones. The Town again refused. And in response, the pastor who delivered prayer at the Board meeting in October 2007, said that those who opposed the Town's practices are “in the minority and they are ignorant of the history of our country.”&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>In 2008, the lawsuit aganst the Town of Greece was filed by Americans United for Separation of Church and State on behalf of litigants Susan Galloway and Linda Stephens.</p><p>Greece had not always opened its town board meetings with prayer.&nbsp; Until John Auberger became Supervisor, the meetings were opened with primarily with a moment of silence.</p><p><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1371098106135_9156" style="letter-spacing:0.0px;">From 1999 through 2007, every single one of the Town's monthly prayers was delivered by a Christian.&nbsp; From 1999 until the time that the lawsuit was filed , over 2/3 of the prayers were explicitly Christian. No other religions were referenced in any of these prayers.&nbsp; </span><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1371098106135_9260" style="letter-spacing:0.0px;">Lipper stated,&nbsp; "More importantly, it became clear that the four non-Christian prayergivers in 2008 were being treated as tokens. Most of the other prayers in 2008 contained explicitly Christian content. And from the beginning of 2009 until the middle of 2010 (at which point the record for our case was closed) all of the prayer givers were Christian and 90 percent of the prayers contained Christian references—a rate of Christian references even higher than before the case."</span></p><div style="margin:0px;">Mr Lipper pointed out that you don't have to be a divinity scolar to know that the prayers are Christian.&nbsp; He stated, "<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1371098106135_9223" style="letter-spacing:0.0px;">All the prayers identified as Christian included references to “Jesus,” “Jesus Christ,” “Your Son,” or the “Holy Spirit.” Many specifically celebrated Christ's resurrection. One prayer stated that God shows the extent of his kindness “in the life and death, resurrection and ascension of the Savior Jesus Christ”; another cited “the saving sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross”; and yet another described the coming Spring as “an expressive symbol of the new life of the risen Christ.""</span></div><div style="margin:0px;">&nbsp;</div><div style="margin:0px;">The Town won in Federal district court and Galloway and Stephens appealed it to the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals and won.&nbsp; The Town then appealed it to the US. Supremem Court, who has agreed to hear the case.</div><div style="margin:0px;">&nbsp;</div><div style="margin:0px;">As Gregory Lipper stated, " <span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1371098106135_9380" style="letter-spacing:0.0px;">the Bill of Rights, and especially the First Amendment, make clear that one of the most important democratic values is the protection of minority rights—including and especially freedom of religion—against majority will. And with local governments like Greece serving as laboratories of democracy, it is all the more important to protect its citizens' liberty of conscience.</span>"</div>

<p><div class="media media-element-container media-drupalimc_large"><div id="file-9156" class="file file-video file-video-youtube"> <h2 class="element-invisible"><a href="/file/9156">Attorney Gregory Lippor Speaks on Town of Greece vs Galloway and Stephens Case</a></h2> <div class="content"> <div class="media-youtube-video media-image media-youtube-1"> <iframe class="media-youtube-player" width="620" height="480" title="Attorney Gregory Lippor Speaks on Town of Greece vs Galloway and Stephens Case" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/p0jBj5ex1Ko?wmode=opaque&controls=" name="Attorney Gregory Lippor Speaks on Town of Greece vs Galloway and Stephens Case" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>Video of Attorney Gregory Lippor Speaks on Town of Greece vs Galloway and Stephens Case</iframe> </div> </div> </div> </div></p> <p>Gregory Lipper, attorney for Americans United for Separation of Church and State<br />speaks in Rochester, NY, on 6/5/13.  Mr. Lipper spoke on the case Town of Greece vs Galloway and Stephens, which will be argued in the U.S. Supreme Court later in 2013.</p> <p>Mr. Lipper spoke on how this is a case about the advancement of religion by the town of Greece, NY., which is in direct violation of the 1st Amendment of the constitution of the United States, in particular the establishment clause.</p> <p>Galloway and Stephens, both town of Greece residents, did not immediately file a lawsuit against the Town of Greece, but tried to handle the issue directly.  They tried to meet with the supervisor and thought they had an appointment with him, but when they went to the meeting the Supervisors underlings were there, Chief of Staff - Jeffery McCann and Constituent Services Director-Kathryn Firkins.  Where upon Galloway and Stephens were told they could just not listen to the prayer or leave.  Since the towns reponse was unsatisfactory, the two residents than solicited help from Americans United for Separation of Church and State, who <span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1371098106135_9191" style="letter-spacing:0.0px;">wrote a letter to the Town on their behalf, asking the Town to replace the Christian prayers with nondenominational ones. The Town again refused. And in response, the pastor who delivered prayer at the Board meeting in October 2007, said that those who opposed the Town's practices are “in the minority and they are ignorant of the history of our country.”   </span>In 2008, the lawsuit aganst the Town of Greece was filed by Americans United for Separation of Church and State on behalf of litigants Susan Galloway and Linda Stephens.</p> <p>Greece had not always opened its town board meetings with prayer.  Until John Auberger became Supervisor, the meetings were opened with primarily with a moment of silence.</p> <p><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1371098106135_9156" style="letter-spacing:0.0px;">From 1999 through 2007, every single one of the Town's monthly prayers was delivered by a Christian.  From 1999 until the time that the lawsuit was filed , over 2/3 of the prayers were explicitly Christian. No other religions were referenced in any of these prayers.  </span><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1371098106135_9260" style="letter-spacing:0.0px;">Lipper stated,  "More importantly, it became clear that the four non-Christian prayergivers in 2008 were being treated as tokens. Most of the other prayers in 2008 contained explicitly Christian content. And from the beginning of 2009 until the middle of 2010 (at which point the record for our case was closed) all of the prayer givers were Christian and 90 percent of the prayers contained Christian references—a rate of Christian references even higher than before the case."</span></p> <div style="margin:0px;">Mr Lipper pointed out that you don't have to be a divinity scolar to know that the prayers are Christian.  He stated, "<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1371098106135_9223" style="letter-spacing:0.0px;">All the prayers identified as Christian included references to “Jesus,” “Jesus Christ,” “Your Son,” or the “Holy Spirit.” Many specifically celebrated Christ's resurrection. One prayer stated that God shows the extent of his kindness “in the life and death, resurrection and ascension of the Savior Jesus Christ”; another cited “the saving sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross”; and yet another described the coming Spring as “an expressive symbol of the new life of the risen Christ.""</span></div> <div style="margin:0px;"> </div> <div style="margin:0px;">The Town won in Federal district court and Galloway and Stephens appealed it to the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals and won.  The Town then appealed it to the US. Supremem Court, who has agreed to hear the case.</div> <div style="margin:0px;"> </div> <div style="margin:0px;">As Gregory Lipper stated, " <span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1371098106135_9380" style="letter-spacing:0.0px;">the Bill of Rights, and especially the First Amendment, make clear that one of the most important democratic values is the protection of minority rights—including and especially freedom of religion—against majority will. And with local governments like Greece serving as laboratories of democracy, it is all the more important to protect its citizens' liberty of conscience.</span>"</div>