Appeals Court Throws Out Legislative Prayer Suit

A federal appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit that challenged sectarian prayer in the Indiana House of Representatives. House Minority Leader Brian Bosma is an Indianapolis Republican who was Speaker when the suit was filed and was named as the defendant. "I am honestly elated," Bosma said, "that the 7th Circuit has protected the rights of individuals to speak openly and freely." The Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a group of taxpayers who sued did not have legal standing to do so. The appeals court did not rule on whether the prayers themselves were constitutional.