police prayer

Richmond, Virginia – April 30th, 2010. A pro-family group in Virginia is grateful to their new governor for taking a stand in defense of religious liberty rights — and that as a result, police chaplains in the commonwealth can resume praying in the name of Jesus.

Former Governor Tim Kaine endorsed a policy prohibiting the state’s police chaplains from praying according to their faith at public events. That was a policy based on a misinterpretation of a court case — and Victoria Cobb of the Richmond-based Family Foundation tells OneNewsNow that it caused an uproar.

“Absolutely. Our chaplains were devastated,” she shares. “The program at the time had 17 chaplains, 12 of whom immediately resigned — and so for those chaplains it was a significant thing because they could no longer serve because they felt that the dictates of their conscience could not be expressed.”

But Virginia now has a new governor, Republican Bob McDonnell. Cobb applauds the governor for addressing the issue — and fulfilling a promise.

“We are obviously thrilled that Governor McDonnell has fulfilled his campaign promise to restore the religious liberty rights of state police chaplains,” says the family advocate. “His action reverses the discriminatory policy of the previous administration and ensures that chaplains can remain true to their faith at public events.”

Cobb says there are hints from the ACLU of a lawsuit, but she is convinced that Alliance Defense Fund, Liberty Counsel, and other constitutional law ministries can successfully defend the policy if need be.

Charlie Butts – OneNewsNow