TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Julia Wilburn on Oct 25, 2022

Sumner County Commissioners voted 20-4 to include language affirming "Judeo-Christian values" in their Standing Rules and Procedures, a document that governs how they conduct their meetings. NewsChannel5 reports that "among the changes, the commission added a preamble, saying the commission is adopting the rules 'to ensure that [the county government] is ... most importantly, reflective of the Judeo-Christian values inherent in our nation's founding,' among other reasons." Interim Law Director Ben Allen warned the group that they could be setting the county up for discrimination lawsuits. Nashville attorney David Raybin says that the inclusion of the language is a clear violation of the First Amendment's ban against the government endorsing religion.