Website move, and Missouri's Right to Pray amendment

I have decided to abandon my old website (previously found at http://rosalie-stanton.com) in favor of this one. Why? Everything I had there has been transitioned over, including a bunch of extras. And what can I say? Wordpress is just neater. I like having everything in one place. I had a friend install an automatic redirect, so visitors who go to that link first either have the option of clicking the big "MOVED" sign or waiting five seconds to be brought here by force. So my state did something really stupid yesterday, and 83% of the people within my state support it. In case you guys aren't aware, this is what the first amendment to the United States Constitution says:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

I'm not going to get into a big church v. state thing here, because honestly, those who feel strongly in the other way will never be swayed. However, Missouri citizens overwhelmingly voted for the "Right to Pray" amendment in yesterday's election. What does this mean? Glad you asked.

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to ensure:

• That the right of Missouri citizens to express their religious beliefs shall not be infringed;
• That school children have the right to pray and acknowledge God voluntarily in their schools; and
• That all public schools shall display the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution

I think most reasonable people can answer the above with: "Well, yes. Everyone should have a right to those things."

And if you're paying attention, your next question should be, "Did it really need to be said?"

And if you stop and think about it, your next question should be, "Did it need to be put on a ballot?"

The answer to that? No. Of course not.

Yet the gullible masses, in all their wisdom, voted for something they deserved, either not realizing or not caring it was something they already had, and wouldn't not have even if the amendment didn't pass. Know why? Federal law > State law.

I'm turning twenty-eight this year, which means it's been about ten years since I graduated high school. Public school, I might add. There were prayer groups that met at the flagpole, students could pray before lunch, read the bible whenever they liked, and even take a literature of the bible elective course. People who say it's illegal to pray in school are either dumb, misinformed, or disingenuous. The only thing schools can't do is lead students in prayer, and there's a good reason for that.  We already have enough things defining us as different. Let kids pray if they want to. No reasonable person would object to that. Don't pretend like it's something new, or that you've achieved anything aside from being redundant, and at the expense of fear-mongering an already polarized electorate.

Supporters of this amendment and others like it are free to tell me what passing this useless piece of legislation will do for us tomorrow what Missourians weren't legal protected to do yesterday. I'll listen, but I likely won't agree with you.