First Liberty



As Tarin Swain walked to the podium at the March Ventura City Council,
she felt compelled by religious conviction to pray.

She hadn't planned to pray. In fact, she'd prepared a
speech.

But then the city council cut every scheduled speaker's time
from 3 minutes down to 60 seconds.

You see, over 130 concerned community members had shown up to voice
their opinions to the Ventura City Council, which was considering its
support of a policy that would make Ventura a safe haven for illegal
immigrants, abortion, and transitioning of minors without parental
consent.

Bound by her conscience, Tarin used her allotted time to pray, asking
God to strengthen opponents in their fight against the implementation
of this dangerous policy.

While her prayer was met with boos and hissing from the audience, she
didn't expect what happened next.

The Ventura Mayor interrupted her, demanding she stop by saying,
"We [the City of Ventura] don't do prayer."

Watch Tarin Swain and First Liberty attorney Erin Smith discuss this
case and learn what we're doing to protect Tarin's right
to pray.

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First Liberty is already taking action on behalf of Tarin. We
won't stand by when religious discrimination like this takes
place.

The mayor allowed over 130 people, including a man with a puppet, to
speak freely but only chose to silence a private citizen's
prayer.

That's not only wrong, but it's also a clear violation of
the First Amendment.

Private citizens speak on their own behalf, not on behalf of the
government. Therefore, the rules that govern the prayer practices of
legislative bodies do not apply to citizens' public comments.

That's why we're demanding that the mayor apologize to
Swain, repeal any policy that prohibits prayer, and provide written
assurance that the City Council will allow speakers at the podium to
engage in prayer.

Will you join us in the fight to protect Tarin's right to pray
at city council meetings?

In California, winning a legal battle for faith is never easy.

But with God's favor and your support, we can secure a victory
for prayer and the First Amendment.

And your financial support today can provide our expert attorneys with
the resources we need to give prayer the solid foundation it so badly
needs in Ventura.

Yes, I will make a gift today »
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