Rep. Scott: 'David Scott's gonna pray wherever I want to'

After an audience member at his town hall criticized him for saying a prayer before the meeting, Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.) said, "well I can tell you this, ma'am, David Scott's gonna pray wherever I want to."

During the meeting, a woman said that Scott and the audience "broke a federal law" by saying a prayer because the town hall was held in a public school. The Georgia Democrat's forceful response elicited a loud round of applause from the crowd.

For the record, there is no federal law prohibiting prayer from taking place in a public school. Laws, however, do restrict government-sanctioned prayer.

At the beginning of the meeting, Scott asked everyone to stand and pray so that "we're starting it off right."

Here is an excerpt from the prayer:

We pray, dear God, that you have us be respectful to one another, that we have a civil discussion, and most importantly dear God, that we leave here much wiser, more knowledgeable and better informed than we were when we came in.

Scott concluded the prayer by saying "and all of these blessings we answer your son Jesus Christ's name, and we all say amen."

The fourth-term Blue Dog from Georgia has not shied away town hall controversy. Earlier this month, Scott accused one of his constituents of "hijacking" a healthcare meeting. A few days later a vandal painted a four-foot swastika on Scott's office.

Here is video from the event (via blogfordemocracy.org):

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