Ruling that the Freedom From Religion Foundation failed to show sufficient harm to merit the injunction they sought, U.S. District Judge Gray H. Miller dismissed a lawsuit that sought to stop Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) from sponsoring a national day of Christian prayer and fasting.
His ruling asserted that the group of atheists and agnostics did not have legal standing to sue.
The Freedom from Religion Foundation argued in the lawsuit that Perry’s involvement in the day of prayer and fasting would violate the First Amendment’s establishment clause. Not so, said Judge Miller.
Perry invited the Obama administration, the nation’s governors and Texas lawmakers to attend the event.
The event is being sponsored by several evangelical Christian groups, including the American Family Association, which has been criticized by civil rights groups for promoting anti-homosexual and anti-Islamic positions on the roughly 200 radio stations it operates
The event, which is called The Response, is scheduled for Aug. 6 at Houston’s Reliant Stadium.
