What happens in Wisconsin, on the National Day of Prayer? That depends on who you’re talking to. According to Annie Laurie Gaylor with the Madison-based Freedom from Religion Foundation, organizers can expect state recognition, despite a recent ruling against the national event by federal judge Barbara Crabb, in a lawsuit filed by Gaylor’s group. “They’re (event organizers) getting Governor Doyle to issue their proclamation word-for-word, that is all about publicizing a federal statute calling that date the National Day of Prayer,” Gaylor said during an interview. “This is what you’d expect in a in a theocracy.”
But Julaine K. Aplling with Wisconsin Family Action dismissed Gaylor’s assertion, noting that her group “has not been successful in bringing enough pressure to bear upon Democratic Governor Jim Doyle to issue any proclamation relative to the day of prayer. That is flat out laughable.” Appling and Gaylor debated the issue during a WisconsinEye Newsmakers interview. The National Day of Prayer is Thursday, May 6th.