The county commission in Brevard County, Florida voted unanimously today (August 20, 2014) to prohibit atheists from offering invocations at public meetings, the Raw Story website reports.
The commissioners voted to send a letter to David Williamson -- founder of the Central Florida Freethought Community -- indicating that his group doesn't qualify to deliver the invocation because it is defined as "an opening prayer, presented by members of our faith community." Williamson said he plans to take legal action against the county commission.
"The prayer is delivered during the ceremonial portion of the county's meeting, and typically invokes guidance for the County Commission from the highest spiritual authority, a higher authority which a substantial body of Brevard constituents believe to exist," the letter reads. "The invocation is also meant to lend gravity to the occasion, to reflect values long part of the county's heritage, and to acknowledge the place religion holds in the lives of many private citizens in Brevard County."
County resident Joseph Richardson noted during the meeting that if a government activity requires the exclusion of "atheists, humanists, or any segment of your population, no matter how small, from full participation in government activities -- if any government activity requires such an exclusion, then that activity is patently unfair, unequal, unconstitutional, and should no longer be a part of the government."
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