The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a Florida city's request to dismiss a lawsuit brought by atheists who say they were offended after the city held a prayer vigil following a local mass shooting.
The City of Ocala had asked the Supreme Court to clarify whether "psychic or emotional offense allegedly caused by observation of religious messages" was sufficient to grant the atheists standing to sue, arguing it is not. The Supreme Court denied the city's petition, handing the atheists a temporary win. However, Justice Neil Gorsuch explained in a statement that the lower courts now reviewing the case should ultimately side with Ocala.
The case concerns two individuals, Lucinda Hale and Art Rojas, who are members of the American Humanist Association. Hale and Rojas have accused Ocala of violating the establishment clause of the First Amendment after police organized a prayer vigil with local religious leaders in response to a 2014 shooting in which several children were injured. Court documents said police chaplains were praying and singing on stage while in uniform.
The atheists claimed that the religious elements of the prayer vigil were offensive and made them feel excluded. The district court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit held that the atheists had standing to sue.
Ocala sought to have the Supreme Court review 11th Circuit's 2018 decision granting the atheists standing in light of the court's 2022 opinion in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, when the Supreme Court said former football coach Joe Kennedy had the right to lead members of his team in voluntary post game prayers.
