A California town is being threatened with a lawsuit over a 12-hour prayer rally held outside the city hall for a 6-year-old girl who was shot last week, and for an upcoming town hall meeting at a property belonging to a Christian organization.
City Mayor Anthony Silva received a letter from the American Humanist Association (AHA) and Stockton Area Atheists and Freethinkers (SAAF), telling him that the prayer rally held at a public property violated the Constitution.
The rally was dedicated to the 6-year-old child who was wounded in gunfire aimed at the car she was riding with her mother. The mayor had organized the rally in hopes of ending homicidal violence, of which the little girl was the 40th victim.
"My city had its 40th homicide. So we are in desperate need of immediate action. Residents want something done and want to feel safe, and if I have to give them hope and prayer, that is what I will do," Silva told KRCA News.
He was firm in his stance that as "long as there is crime and homicides in Stockton, I'm going to continue to lead the city in prayer."
The mayor presented an honorary key to the city, presented in a glass case with inscription, "GOD we dedicate the city of Stockton to you!"
However, AHA said that all the gestures were unconstitutional.
"Mayors and other public officials cannot use the machinery of the state to push their religious agendas. Using the state to promote prayer violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and alienates community members of minority faiths and of no faith," AHA senior counsel Monica Miller said in a statement.
The letter sent to Mayor Silva argued that the town hall meetings should not take place at properties of Christian organizations such as that of Christian Life Center, where it is set to take place on November 30.
"There is similarly no secular purpose for holding 'town hall' meetings in religious Christian venues, especially when there are ample secular government venues available," the letter states. "And clearly, there is no secular purpose in having a city-sponsored town hall meeting 'hosted' by a Christian organization. The city's 'rejection of the alternative of wholly secular [venues] makes it very clear' that its purpose of holding the town hall meetings in churches is 'religious.'"
"This letter serves as a notice of the city and mayor's unconstitutional activity and demands that you terminate all promotion, sponsorship, endorsement or affiliation with Christian Life Center and any other religious organization immediately. We also specifically demand that you find a secular venue for the upcoming town hall meeting and that you refrain from using Christian venues for such events," continued the letter.
To the allegation of using church property to push religious agenda, Silva replied that he has to consider city's finances before hosting events.
"Residents should know if I used a city facility like the arena or Bob Hope Theatre, I would need to pay thousands of dollars in fees," he told KRCA News.
Silva has emailed organizer of SAAF, David Diskin, and assured him that for future events, "neutral" venues will be prioritized, but that it was too late now to move the venue for November 30 town hall meeting.
The mayor also reached out to Nicholas Hatten, who is running the mayoral campaign for Councilman Michael Tubbs, Silva's competitor for next elections, that the next events will be organized at "neutral" locations.
"I have to give (Silva) credit. Anytime somebody reaches out when you have opposing views and is willing to listen to the other argument, I think that's healthy," Hatten said.
