Rev. Danny Fisher

The Washington Post is reporting that six of seventeen volunteer chaplains have resigned from their positions with the Virginia State Police since August, following the passage of a policy that bans them from “referring to Jesus Christ in public prayers.” In a statement, Col. W. Steven Flaherty, the State Police superintendent, said he asked the corps of chaplains to “offer nondenominational prayers at department-sanctioned public events but that the request does not apply to private ceremonies or individual counseling.” He attributed the decision to a recent federal appeals court ruling that a Fredericksburg City Council member may not pray “in Jesus’s name” during council meetings because the opening invocation is considered government speech. Predictably, House Republicans have begun demonizing Governor Tim Kaine (D) over this issue, despite the fact that the order was came from Flaherty.