Well, Marilyn finally got to attend Town Meeting in full accordance with her civil rights. Franklin observed a one year moratorium on prayer at Town Meeting today.  _________________________________________________

Town Meeting Day in Franklin County has come to mean one thing in particular for me; a check-in to see how First Amendment champion, Marilyn Hackett is faring in her effort to have public prayer dropped from the Town Meeting agenda in Franklin.  

To my mind, Marilyn is making the ultimate argument for that freedom of conscience that some would call “religion.”

Every year, Marilyn requests that Town Meeting not commence with the customary Christian invocation, and every year that invocation nevertheless takes place; but Marilyn does not give up.

She’s been told that she is welcome to leave the room before the prayer begins, and to return once it is over; but Marilyn quite reasonably argues that this essentially “closes” the meeting to her, and asks instead that a secular invocation distributed by the Vermont League of Cities and Towns be substituted for the Christian prayer.  

Those who must share a prayer can do that elsewhere before coming to Town Meeting, which is supposed be an open citizen interface, in adherence with Vermont law:

Chapter I, Article 3 – Freedom in religion; right and duty of religious worship

That all persons have a natural and unalienable right, to worship Almighty God, according to the dictates of their own consciences and understandings, as in their opinion shall be regulated by the word of God; and that no person ought to, or of right can be compelled to attend any religious worship, or erect or support any place of worship, or maintain any minister, contrary to the dictates of conscience, nor can any person be justly deprived or abridged of any civil right as a citizen, on account of religious sentiments, or peculiar mode of religious worship; and that no authority can, or ought to be vested in, or assumed by, any power whatever, that shall in any case interfere with, or in any manner control the rights of conscience, in the free exercise of religious worship. Nevertheless, every sect or denomination of Christians ought to observe the sabbath or Lord’s day, and keep up some sort of religious worship, which to them shall seem most agreeable to the revealed will of God.

This year, Marilyn has the ACLU in her corner; and yesterday, her arguments to end public prayer at Town Meeting were considered by the State Superior Court.

Even though Superior Court Judge Martin Maley has said that a decision will not be handed down before Town Meeting is held this year, Ms. Hackett says she will be attending Town Meeting as usual.  

When asked to issue an injunction prohibiting the Town from including the prayer in this year’s meeting, the Judge declined to do so, giving the excuse that he will be

“out of town…and won’t have the time to decide whether an injunction is necessary.”

As this year’s brand of religious crazy seems to be shifting from Islamist fundamentalism to Christian fundamentalism, and the social agenda of the Republican party sounds like something from the Eisenhower years,  Ms. Hackett has to be especially courageous to hold her ground and even raise the stakes.

Romanticized by the rest of the county, Town Meeting has become the very symbol of direct democracy; but for Marilyn Hackett, it is a painful annual reminder that her views are not respected by her community.

“I will not give up my democratic rights,my civil rights,” he said.  “But it’s a miserable experience.  I go home and cry every year.”

(You can read Marilyn’s own thoughtful and well articulated arguments in my April 15, 2010 post on the subject.)