This is never, ever going to end, is it?
The Indiana House will once again invite clergy members and other guests to give opening prayers before legislative work begins, a tradition that had been halted temporarily because of a lawsuit challenging the practice.
A U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled last year that taxpayers who sued over the prayers did not have the legal standing. So on Tuesday, as lawmakers gathered for an organization day at the Statehouse before the January session begins, the House started its business with a prayer from the Rev. Matthew Barnes of Indianapolis.
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The ACLU of Indiana, which represented the taxpayers in the previous lawsuit, says it could bring another lawsuit if sectarian prayers continue in the General Assembly.
I've heard all the arguments from both sides so often I can recite them in my sleep, and I've written about the issue until I'm sick to death of it. You can choose whichever side you think is the most right if you want to keep playing that game, but the fact is that whether prayers are said or not and what kind and who says them do not matter to Hoosiers' real lives one whit. So whichever side just walks away and says, "We have more important things to do, so we're not doing this anymore," will win our undying gratitude.
