Despite impassioned pleas from veterans and local residents, the McLennan County Commissioners Court has not made a decision whether to begin its weekly meetings with the Pledge of Allegiance.

About 10 area veterans and supporters showed up for Tuesday’s meeting, advocating for the county to install the pledge and prayer.

“When you’re down there (fighting), you believe in God,” said Clarence Deegan, a Navy veteran who was on active duty during the Vietnam War. “I can’t see this country standing together without God.”

Commissioner Joe Mashek said he advocates saying the pledge and ending it with “God Bless Texas.”
Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald

Bill Mahon, longtime veterans advocate and former county veterans services coordinator, said the pledge is instilled in Americans from kindergarten through adulthood and should be part of public meetings.

“Regardless of what religion each of us have, the guys that were in the foxholes yesterday and in the trenches today, when they are in that precarious situation, they reach for the Lord they believe in and the country they believe in,” Mahon said.

Last week, the court heard similar appeals from residents, including Bellmead minister Larry Brown, president of the McLennan County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

The court first looked at the issue at its May 11 meeting, opting at the time to seek advice from legal counsel before making a decision.

Potential lawsuits

County attorney Mike Dixon, warned that including a prayer could indeed open the county up to potential lawsuits.

But the court has yet to make a decision on saying the pledge.

Commissioner Joe Mashek, who sponsored the issue, said he had planned at the start of the meeting to pull the issue from the agenda and take no action, meaning the court would continue its routine without the pledge.

That was before he heard the testimony from the different veterans pushing for the court to adopt both the pledge and prayer.

“I was going to pull it on behalf of the county not getting in trouble, but this is not what I really want to do,” Mashek said.

“I believe in prayer, and I say a prayer before I come to this meeting every week, so I’m going to really think long about how I want to proceed with this.”

‘God bless Texas’

Mashek said he still advocates saying the pledge and ending it with “God bless Texas,” and perhaps adding a moment of silence for people to pray — or not — in solitude.

Commissioner Kelly Snell declined to comment, since the issue was last discussed in closed session.

The state’s government code prohibits officials from disclosing information discussed in closed meetings.

Commissioner Lester Gibson said because of the deliberations in executive session, the court will only be able to discuss the issue in open court when a motion for a vote is taken.

Gibson, a veteran himself, said while there may be legal ramifications, his position remains that the meetings should first begin with a prayer, followed by the pledge of allegiance.

“Now if somebody wants to sue me, I don’t care, for praying to my God, then they can sue. That’s a conviction that I can deal with,” Gibson said.

rdennis@wacotrib.com

757-5755

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