Reason Prevails in Rhode Island Prayer Banner Controversy

Jessica Ahlquist, 16, prevailed in a heated state/church lawsuit challenging a prayer banner at her high school in Cranston, R.I. Yesterday, the school board there took the right, rational and fiscally responsible action, by voting not to appeal the Jan. 11 ruling by U.S. District Judge Donald Lagueux. The judge had ordered the removal of a large prayer inscribed on a banner in the auditorium of Cranston High School West, beginning, "Our Heavenly Father" and ending "Amen."

Ahlquist, 5 feet tall and only 16 years old, was targeted by many in her state and community, including by her state representative, who publicly labeled her "an evil little thing." She had become such a persona non grata in the overwhelmingly Catholic community that four local florists refused to deliver flowers Freedom From Religion Foundation had ordered after her January federal court victory.

Jessica will be a headline speaker at the upcoming Reason Rally on the National Mall in Washington D.C., on Saturday, March 24. (Read more here.)

"Jessica is part of a long line of freethinkers who have stood up for rights of conscience, and made legal history in defending the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. She epitomizes the significant role that freethinkers continue to play in moving society forward," said Dan Barker, FFRF co-president.