[ad_1]
In an interview with Fox News nearly a week after the August 3 collective shootout in El Paso in August, which killed 22 people and left more than two dozen wounded, Texas's lieutenant-governor , Dan Patrick, spoke about the attack and the possible motivators.
He talked about mental health and violent video games during the interview. He also raised concerns about spiritual values.
Patrick said that "on Sunday, everyone was going to the church in America to pray about it and that the next day, when their kids were going to school, they were not allowed to pray or talk about it. "
He made a similar comment during an appearance on Fox News the day after the shooting: "I'm watching this Sunday morning when most of your viewers, half of the country, are preparing to go to church and yet, tomorrow, we have won, do not even let our children pray in our schools. "
Patrick's claim is out of the grassroots. Children are allowed to pray in schools and discuss current events, including mass shootings.
Patrick offered a statement when asked what he said:
"I have highlighted a wide range of factors that contribute to national terrorism, including a frayed culture that elevates hatred and devalues life," Patrick said. "As for prayer in our public schools, we give students a minute of silence to do what they want, but there was a time when students prayed together aloud and where students and students Schools were neither prosecuted nor banned.There was a time when mayors of the city did not pursue pastors for their sermons and where journalists like you would never have challenged the idea that the issue Faith in America was important – we were a better country when everyone all responded to a higher authority – and this was not a government – many of us in America still believe that. "
Do most Americans go to church?
First, in both interviews, Patrick suggested that "everyone" or "half of the country" went to church on Sunday to pray as a result of the shooting in El Paso.
There is no way to know for sure how many people across the country attended a religious service on a given day, but surveys of the American population's religious habits were uncovered.
In 2017, about 39% of Americans attended religious services at least once a week, according to the Pew Research Center. About 33% attended a few times a month or a year. Some of these people attended services in mosques, temples, and gathering places other than churches.
A Gallup poll also examined this trend: in 2018, 22% of Americans attended a church or synagogue weekly and 10% almost every week.
Students are allowed to pray
Patrick said the children of Texas were not allowed to pray when they went to class the day after the shooting in El Paso.
Patrick probably did not speak of a specific example of school preventing a child from praying. On the one hand, most Texas schools were still on summer vacation when he made his application.
In a landmark 1962 decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled that even non-denominational, school-sponsored or state-sponsored prayer contravened the First Amendment Clause.
But the decision does not prohibit prayer or religious expression at the school.
"Contrary to popular belief, the Supreme Court has never banned" prayer at school "", reads in a blog of the Freedom Forum Institute. "Students are free to pray alone or in a group, provided that these prayers do not disturb or affect the rights of others."
At the same time, students do not have the "right to have a captive audience listening" and they can not put pressure on other students to join them. to them in prayer, explained the institute.
In Texas, the current law states that school boards must require all schools in the district to provide a minute of silence on each campus. During this period, students are allowed to "think, pray, meditate or participate in any other silent activity".
These same restrictions on prayer and religious expression do not apply to private schools.
Shooting discussion
Patrick also said that students would not be able to discuss the El Paso shootings during school hours. The foundation of his claim is not clear.
No state-level policy indicates whether teachers can facilitate class discussion in the classroom. In addition, students are allowed to discuss these issues with each other or in individual conversations with teachers or school counselors.
School counselors take on a multitude of roles, including as a feedback group for students who want to express themselves about their family life and as a resource for students with serious mental health issues.
They can also play a preventative role, helping to identify students in crisis, while providing a resource for struggling students following a mass shootout who wish to talk about the event.
Earlier this year, state legislators approved a series of laws to increase school safety after the shooting at Santa Fe high school in the Houston area, killing eight and killing two teachers.
A set of new laws included a proposal to improve student mental health services by expanding access to mental health professionals and providing mental health training to teachers and other health professionals. ;school.
Our decision
In two interviews, Patrick said that students could not pray after mass shooting in El Paso. He also said that they could not discuss the shooting at school.
Patrick's request is inaccurate. School-sponsored prayer is forbidden, but students are allowed to pray individually and, in Texas, for a moment of silence required.
No state-wide policy indicates whether teachers can discuss current events with their students, including mass shootings. Students who wish to discuss these events with school staff have many options.
We evaluate this statement as false.
FALSE – The statement is not accurate.
[ad_2]
Source link