I support the separation of church and state.

When I go to city council meetings at city hall in Redmond, they always begin with a prayer. This prayer should not be allowed anymore. It should never have been allowed in the first place. It’s against the law. The law is separation of church and state. It’s not complicated, its very simple. So why is it allowed? I don’t know, but I would like to find out.

I feel that Redmond city councilors owe the people of Redmond an explanation as to why a prayer takes place before city council meetings. If the city councilors are not aware of or do not understand the separation of church and state, I would be more than happy to explain that to them in public or private as many times as it takes. If Redmond city councilors do not agree with the separation of church and state then I would advise them to resign immediately because they are not fit for the job. If there is some other explanation I would like to hear it, publicly. You can not be for separation of church and state and also be for a prayer in city council.

Redmond deserves better. Redmond deserves a city council that gets it correct. This is an issue that needs to be discussed and explained in a public and transparent manner.

It’s time to fix this and move on to real issues and important topics. As we move into the campaign season next year we must keep it simple and clear.

Redmond must continue to move forward and upward and getting rid of this prayer quickly and permanently will be a very big step in the right direction. There are 50 churches in Redmond that people can go to and pray. There is only one city hall and its a place where we are all equal and we are all American and we are all there to deal with reality, not fairy tales.

Charles Webster Baer

Redmond