Gary Franks: School prayer could stem mass shootings

It is truly the minds, hearts and souls of those who kill people that must be altered.

Due to Supreme Court decisions rendered in 1962 and 1963 that prevented American children from doing what every member of Congress does every day — have a prayer before commencing the day or session — we need to pass a constitutional amendment.

When I was a child in a public grade school, we had school prayer. When I went to a Catholic high school, I had school prayer. Congress members (House and Senate) do not start their day in their respective chambers without prayer administered by a member of the clergy.

It should be noted that on inauguration day, when a president is sworn in, a clergyman initiates the proceedings.

Why is prayer so important? I have yet to find an instance in our history where there has been a mass shooting at a school that allows school prayer. For those of you who feel like me, we can say that prayer does help. It is a factor behind such positive results.

In a 2014 Gallup poll, most Americans (61%) said they would like to see school prayer brought back to public institutions. Those who oppose it are 37% of Americans.

The 1962 Supreme Court ruling that changed the practice, which had never been challenged previously, was based on the justices’ belief that it was a violation of the First Amendment — the Establishment Clause.

Years later in 1984, the high court ruled that a moment of silence with the intent to pray or meditate in public institutions would be permissible in the Wallace v. Jaffree case.

It is truly an integral part of our culture.

It may sound callous, and I apologize if it does, but I am sure parents who have lost a child in a school shooting would quickly take the odds of prayer in schools yielding a 100% benefit or change in outcome.

From 1970 to 2021 we have had 1,924 school shootings with the greatest number of incidents in 2021 — 249. The next highest was 2019 at 119. During that same period, 637 people have died in a school shooting.

After all, I say facetiously, ropes and trees, like guns and bullets, were the “method” by which 5,000 Black people were lynched over the centuries in the U.S. No one advocated cutting down all the trees and abolishing ropes, though that too would have solved the problem in the warped logic of some people. Rational people know that it would not have made any difference, as bad people find a way to do bad things.

Hate crimes do find their way into religious establishments. Racists and antisemites gravitate to houses of worship. It’s still a different issue than mass shootings at schools.

Beyond prayer, an increased number of guidance counselors in grade and high schools also could help. They are often trained to do more than put together curricula and help with college admissions. They are trained to interact with students.

The heart. Racism is real. If you do not believe it, talk to Dylan Roof and the mass murderer in the Buffalo case. However, they are not using ropes and trees anymore.

The mind. I do not advocate that everyone should see a mental health specialist. We must face the facts. We live in a different America from the 20th century. We have social media, cellphone, and the internet as examples of just three major changes. We communicate with our loved ones differently. We text, we use social media and we can go days, if not weeks, not seeing a person we love.

Now, granted, covid-19 has resulted in greater social isolation and is possibly a reason why the number of gun incidents rose during the last couple of years. But we must take Americans out of the covid era. We need to reengage with folks — those we love, dislike or are indifferent with. Because with “old-fashioned” person- to-person contact, or merely talking to people over the phone again, we can make all the difference in people’s mental stability.

If we can give strangers $40 billion (Ukraine) to “protect our democracy,” we should be able to provide serious money to wage war on mental illness. We can also help via peer counseling and interventions.

If we can protect and see everything going on in New York’s Times Square and similar venues via cameras and sophisticated technology, we should be able to equip every school with cameras that will quickly alert authorities if anything seems out of order.

We must turn this around. God may not be a bad place to start. After all, it is hard to beat perfection.

When I was a member of Congress, I proudly introduced the school prayer amendment to the House of Representatives for legislative consideration. For those who believe in the power of prayer, you would understand and for those who question the results, so be it. Regardless, having prayer in school would cost us $0.