The Roanoke Star
Letters to the Editor
July 22, 2012
On Friday, July 13, President Obama, U.S. Senator Mark Warner, and U.S. Senate Candidate Tim Kaine spoke at a political rally in downtown Roanoke. According to reporter Valerie Garner, “At the start of the event Councilman Sherman Lea gave the invocation.”
Why is it perfectly fine for these government leaders to open their meeting with a prayer, but not so for local leaders such as the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors? What about the separation of church & state? What about government leaders showing favoritism to a particular religious faith?
Why is the right to exercise freedom of religion not respected for ordinary Americans in the same way that we saw on July 13? How can the simple action of public prayer be such a minefield for the rest of Americans and not for the president, a senator and a former governor? Is freedom of religion just for the political elite now?
Gail T. Lambert
Roanoke