ACLU seeks records on Perry prayer event

[sonias]

Houston Chronicle 7/20/11

ACLU seeks records on Perry prayer event

The American Civil Liberties Union filed open-records requests Wednesday to determine how much public money will be spent on Texas Gov. Rick Perry's prayer event at Reliant Stadium on Aug. 6.

Dubbed "The Response: A Call to Prayer for a Nation in Crisis," and funded by the Mississippi-based American Family Association and other fundamentalist Christian organizations, the all-day event is expected to attract several thousand people. The ACLU of Texas has requested information from the governor's office, the Harris County Sheriff's Office and the city of Houston, as well as auditor's and fire marshal's offices.

"We are concerned that Governor Perry is using public office to endorse a sectarian religious event and to advance specific Christian beliefs," Lisa Graybill, legal director of the ACLU of Texas, said in a statement. "We are seeking information on the degree to which state resources have been or will be used for the planning and promotion of this event and for state officials' participation in it."

Graybill said the ACLU wasn't seeking to prevent the event, but filed the request for the sake of transparency.

She added: "Governor Perry has said there have been no improprieties and that's fine, but the taxpayers have a right to know how their money is being spent."

Yea ACLU-TX!! :applause::applause::applause:

:kick:

[They_Live]

1. Good!

Publicly audit Perry! Audit Perry Often!