You may not remember Darla Wynne, the Wiccan who sued the town of Great Falls, S.C., over the invocation that began each town council meeting, but S.C. Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Henry McMaster does.
And according to a new video from the McMaster campaign, the AG would take on folks like Wynne, the ACLU, and anybody else who thinks that the separation of church and state should, well, stay a separation.
Even worse, McMaster doesn’t seem to mind that any such defense would be a waste of taxpayer money, based on the Wynne case and the recent “I Believe” license plate ruling. He simply wants your vote in the Republican primary.
According to our very own Will Moredock, this is how the Wynne case went down:
In 2001, Wynne, a practicing Wiccan, sued the town of Great Falls over the invocation at the beginning of town council meetings. Wynne asked that the prayers not be delivered “in the name of Jesus Christ” or that alternative faiths be heard at invocation. She offered to lead such a prayer, in her capacity as high priestess of a group of about 35 Wiccans in the area. The Chester County town of 2,100 refused her request, and Wynne went to federal court.
But with the aid of the American Civil Liberties Union, she prevailed over the next four years in the U.S. District Court and Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. The town appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which refused to hear the case. The council ceased praying in the name of a Christian deity and was even ordered to pay Wynne’s legal expenses.
Oh. And in case anybody needs to be reminded: Henry McMaster was, until very recently, a member of a white folks-only country club.
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