Dear John,

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.

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 »