Iowa governor signs away separation of church and state

[Mermaid]

http://www.politicususa.com/2014/04/12/iowa-governor-signs-separation-church.html
There is apparently no separation of church and state in Iowa, at least according to Governor Terry E. Branstad (R), who signed a proclamation “in the name and by the authority of the State of Iowa,” inviting “all Iowans who choose to join in thoughtful prayer and humble repentance according to II Chronicles 7:14 in favor of our state and nation to come together on July 14, 2014.”

Of course, you can’t do that. But Branstad did it anyway.

[Alaric I]

I don't see an issue with this.  They aren't requiring anybody to do anything, this is nothing more than an invitation and doesn't really fall under what the Supreme Court has ruled for separation of church and state.

[stromboli]

Yup, let's vote in a Republican congress and a Republican president. 5 years from now we'll all be arrested and imprisoned for having atheist bumper stickers on our car, and have to explain why we aren't attending church. The stupidity of these people is mind boggling.

[josephpalazzo]

Of course the governor can do that. Unfortunately this kind of event will continue to give the misrepresentation that the US is a christian nation, and anyone disgreeing is persecuting those poor christians.

[Poison Tree]

If it had just been a generic day of pray I wouldn't care that much, but praying "according to II Chronicles 7:14" seems to make it an explicit (Judeo-)Christian event and an endorsement of said religion(s)

[AllPurposeAtheist]

It has no enforcement of law and he knows it. It's what normal people call pandering for votes, nothing more, nothing less and the moment anyone attempts enforcement the full weight of the justice department should come down like a ton of bricks.

[Nitishajack]

There is a small group of Republicans and theists who are pushing to see just how much they can get away with either ignoring or blatantly violating the Constitution with the aim of making the Constitution useless.