ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, August 2, 1996 TAG: 9608020015
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A8 EDITION: METRO
A CLARIFICATION is in order.
In an editorial Tuesday, we meant to be highly critical of proposed school-prayer amendments to the Constitution. (The First Amendment doesn't need editing.)
We meant to criticize the Republican leadership's political strategy in pushing this wedge issue. (Are you pro-God or anti-God?)
We meant to condemn a reported rush to register an amendment vote in Congress so that the Christian Coalition can better wield the school-prayer issue in mobilizing the faithful (especially Republicans) and bashing the infidels (mostly Democrats).
We did not mean to imply that Rep. Bob Goodlatte himself is co-sponsoring a prayer amendment in the cynical service of a special-interest group with clout in the GOP.
We don't believe that.
In fact, the editorial said that we do not understand his reasons for pushing the amendment. It asked the question: "What's Goodlatte doing in the middle of this?" It credited him with opposing a quick vote on an amendment proposal, as had been sought by House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Majority Leader Dick Armey. And it noted Goodlatte's stated insistence that he is interested in freedom of religious expression, not compulsory state funding of sectarian schools.
Even so, some poor wording in the editorial may have left the impression - it did with the congressman - that we were ascribing opportunistic, bad-faith motives to Goodlatte himself. That was not our intent.
Our assumption is that Goodlatte, who has long shown a substantive interest in the issue, is sincere in his concerns about religious freedom and in his support of a constitutional amendment.
We believe he is wrong about this. Students already have the right to pray in school, as long as the prayer isn't disruptive and isn't organized by government authorities. Plus, the amendment he supports would, by our reading, at least allow and probably compel taxpayer-funding of private religious schools.
In other words, we believe this a bogus issue. But we don't think Goodlatte's interest in it is bogus.
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