Brooks Hamby was told not to mention God in his graduation speech. The school rejected the first 3 speeches. The fourth one, well he apparently committed an “act of civil disobedience” and mentioned God anyway. The school didn’t give him any feedback on that version so he delivered it. Now he’s in a lot of hot water.
The school district says that him mentioning the word “God” is “proselytizing” and that he broke the law. The statement that the school took issue with was:
“May the God of the Bible bless each and every one of you every day in the rest of your lives.”
They claimed this statement was Hamby leading the students and attendees in prayer. Clearly, they have no idea what a prayer sounds like. Maybe the school district should take a field trip to a church one day, for educational purposes of course.
Hamby’s attorney notified the school that they violated his first amendment rights to free speech and have asked for an apology and assurance that this will not happen to other students in the future. The school has squared off and says they have the right to censor speeches in order to protect the appearance of endorsing a religion. How this will end up is anybodies guess. Let’s hope free speech continues to prevail.
You can read more about it here and here his speech (it’s only 1.5 minutes).
Photo credit YouTube
