Costa Mesa could alter its rule on invocations

Deirdre Newman

Members of the public would have the opportunity to deliver a

religious or secular message at City Council meetings if the council

approves a proposal by Councilman Allan Mansoor.

Mansoor will suggest tonight that the council switch from a

religious invocation to a “moment of solemn expression.” The moment

is less restrictive than a prayer because the content and format are

completely up to the speaker.

The councilman said he is bringing the idea forward to absolve the

council of potential liability associated with religious invocations

while giving community members the chance to help council members

remember the seriousness of their oaths and obligations in public

service.

“It’s going to remove sponsorship of the speech and that’s going

to leave the speaker free to express themselves without fear of the

council’s intervention,” Mansoor said.

The issue of liability is significant because of an earlier court

case in which the Burbank City Council was found in violation of the

Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. In that case, a judge

ruled that chaplains who invoke “the name of Jesus Christ” were in

violation because that constituted a sectarian prayer, sending a

message that the Burbank council was a Christian body.

Costa Mesa’s acting city attorney, Tom Wood, said the city’s

current policy could be interpreted in the same way as Burbank’s.

“It’s a legitimate issue and someone could question whether our

circumstances are similar enough to Burbank to get that kind of

result,” Wood said. “Mansoor’s proposal would move us far away from

the system used in Burbank.”

The moment of solemn expression would remove the liability issue

by creating a limited public forum for community members to

participate in, said Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice

Institute, which developed the idea of cities providing a

nonsectarian moment rather than a more overtly religious one.

“The Establishment Clause only applies when it’s deemed that the

state or its agents are endorsing a particular faith or are being

hostile to a particular religious faith,” Dacus said. ‘By creating a

limited public forum, we no longer have a state action.”

Invocations can be limiting to those with religious convictions,

while generic moments provide much more freedom, Dacus said. They can

be in any format, like a speech or a poem; contain any kind of

secular or religious content, including references to Jesus; and be

given by a religious official or a layperson, Dacus said.

“Individuals, with moments of solemn expression, will no longer

feel encumbered as to how they end their prayers and who they’re

praying to,” Dacus said.

Mayor Gary Monahan said he would be interested in hearing more

about Mansoor’s proposal.

“I’ve never felt that our invocation has been a problem to this

date,” Monahan said. “No harm, no foul at this point. I’m definitely

open to see what he’s bringing up.”

In response to Burbank’s violation, Newport Beach decided in

January to require clergy who give invocations to omit from their

talks all references to Jesus, Allah and other deities of specific

religions.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.