A Wiccan high priestess (witch) filed a federal lawsuit against the town of Great Falls, SC for saying the Name of Jesus Christ in prayers before town council meetings. To date, the witch has prevailed at the U.S. District Court and 4th Circuit Court of Appeals levels, and the town council has ceased praying in the Name of Jesus Christ.
However, at Monday (11/15) night's meeting, the Great Falls Town Council voted 6 to 1 to continue the fight, and appeal to the United States Supreme Court.
This case is similar to the unconstitutional removal of Alabama State Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore in that it involves the tyranny of federal court rulings against the acknowledgement of God in the public square. It therefore marks another step in the direction of wiping out any public references or displays of Christianity in America.
The First Amendment states,"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;..." Congress has not made any law establishing a religion, but the U.S. District Court and the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals are, unconstitutionally, in violation of the clear language of the First Amendment, "prohibiting the free exercise thereof" by the men of the Great Falls Town Council. The town council has not made any law establishing any religion, but they are, unconstitutionally, being prohibitedby federal court tyranny, from the free exercise of religion. This is raw judicial tyranny, and should be opposed by Christians around the country as an attack on Christianity in America.
November 18, 2004
Steve Lefemine
2004 Constitution Party candidate for US House District # 2 (SC)___________________________________________________
The Herald
Rock Hill, SC
http://www.heraldonline.com/local/story/4184335p-3965924c.html
Town to fight prayer ruling
By Denyse Clark
The Herald
(Published November 16‚ 2004)
GREAT FALLS -- Great Falls will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in its fight against a woman who opposes official prayers to Jesus Christ at Town Council meetings.
Town Attorney Brian Gibbons received the council's permission in a 6-1 vote Monday to appeal its case against Darla Wynne to the highest court in the land.
Councilman Earl Taylor cast the dissenting vote.
Wynne, a Great Falls resident and Wiccan high priestess, sued the town of about 2,200 residents in 2001 for using the name of Jesus Christ in prayers said before council meetings.
A federal court ruling in August 2003 banned reference to a specific deity in prayers at the town's meetings, prompting Great Falls to fight back. But a three-judge appellate panel ruled against the town in July.
Another panel of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals handed down a unanimous decision earlier this month, ruling that the full court will not hear the town's appeal.
'I hope they feel it's worth it'
When the council announced its decision Monday, Wynne let out a sigh and expressed her disappointment.
"I hope they feel it's worth it," Wynne said.
Wynne's attorney Herbert Buhl III of Columbia has filed a request for about $38,000 to repayWynne's legal fees, she said. The Supreme Court costs will add an additional $25,000, Wynne said.
"I'm a taxpayer, too," Wynne said. "When it's all over, this is going to cost the town about $65,000."
Gibbons, appointed as the council's official spokesperson by Mayor H.C. "Speedy" Starnes, saidthe case so far has not cost the town anything and he doesn't anticipate any cost to the town. The town's insurance reimburses the town up to $15,000 per year for legal costs, Gibbons said. The cost has not exceeded that amount in a single year, he said.
"She (Wynne) said she didn't do this for money, didn't she?" Gibbons said. "We're responding to their request for legal fees, but we're asking the court for relief."
The town will file its case with the Supreme Court before its 90-day deadline expires Jan. 29, Gibbons said. Lawyer Andrew Lindemann of Columbia will represent the Town of Great Falls for free.
In the three years since the lawsuit was filed, it has caused a major rift between Wynne and area residents. It also has led to several incidents of physical violence directed at her, her animals and her property.
Great Falls police responded to at least 10 calls of reported vandalism at Wynne's residence in the past year, Great Falls Police Chief Mike Revels said.
Wicca is an Earth-based religion based upon the reconstruction of pre-Christian traditions originating in Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Wynne is high priestess of about 35 practicing Wiccasin Great Falls, Chester and Lancaster, she said.
Wynne spoke to the council briefly at the start of Monday's meeting and asked it to create a diversity committee to address racial, gender and religious issues facing the town.
"We have a community of Hindus, Greeks and lesbians in Great Falls, and we need to start dealing with the issues and prejudices and healing it," Wynne said. "If we continue to pretend these issues don't exist, they continue to grow, fester and feed our underground."
"It's time to get educated about our community and make it a better place to live," Wynne said.
Denyse Clark • 329-4069
dclark@heraldonline.com
Copyright © 2004 The Herald, Rock Hill, South Carolina __________________________________________________
Steve Lefemine for US2 Congress < SteveLforUS2@sc-online.net >
For further information, contact:
Brian Gibbons, attorney, P.O. Box 177, Great Falls, SC 29055
Julie Blackwell, Great Falls Clerk/Treasurer, 400 Dearborn Street, P.O. Box 177,
Great Falls, SC 29055; ph: (803) 482-2055; fax: (803) 482-6767
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Additional Comments:
There are ready-made remedies in the U.S. Constitution for the U.S. Congress to restrain the power of the federal courts:
Beside the impeachment and removal of judges, the U.S. Congress can, by a simple majority vote, limit both the appellate jurisdiction of the U.S. Supreme Court and the original or appellate jurisdiction of the federal courts (Article III., Section 2. of theU.S. Constitution).
There is legislation currently filed in both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate which would remove appellate jurisdiction from the U.S. Supreme Court, andboth original and appellate jurisdiction from the lower federal courts (U.S. DistrictCourt, and the Circuit Courts of Appeals), in matters involving:
"ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF GOD AS THE SOVEREIGN SOURCE OF LAW, LIBERTY,OR GOVERNMENT."
[Note: The lower federal courts (e.g., U.S. District Courts and Circuit Courts of Appeals)were created by statute by Congress in the Judiciary Act of 1789, and so could be completely eliminated, let alone be restricted in their jurisidiction, by a simple majority vote of Congress.]
In the U.S. House, the bill is H.R.3799, the Constitution Restoration Act of 2004,with 38 co-sponsors, which had a subcommittee hearing on 9/13/04. Great Falls is located in South Carolina (between Columbia and Rock Hill), and all four Republican members of the South Carolina delegation in the U.S. House in the 108th Congress (2003-2004) are co-sponsors of H.R.3799.
[see H.R.3799 at http://thomas.loc.gov]
In the U.S. Senate, S.2323 is also known as the Constitution Restoration Act of 2004,with 8 co-sponsors. Republican U.S. Senator from South Carolina, Lindsey Graham, in the 108th Congress (2003-2004) is a co-sponsor of S.2323.
[see S.2323 at http://thomas.loc.gov]
The bottom line is, if the Republican-majority U.S. House, and Republican-majority U.S. Senate, would, by a simple majority vote, pass the Constitution Restoration Act, and if the Republican President, George W. Bush, would sign the bill into law, then Chief Justice Roy Moore could return to the Alabama Supreme Court and display the Ten Commandments monument in the rotunda of the Alabama Judiciary Building, and the Great Falls, SC Town Council could pray in the Name of Jesus Christ without having their God-given, Constitutionally-protected right of free exercise of religion being usurped, stolen, and egregiously violated by federal judicial tyranny.
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