Perry backs graduation ceremony prayer

AUSTIN, TX Perry issued a statement Friday, one day after the state attorney general filed a brief with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, seeking to lift a federal judge's ban against prayer at Medina Valley High School's ceremony.

The judge Tuesday granted a temporary restraining order against public prayer sought by Christa and Danny Schultz, whose son is graduating Saturday.

Perry calls the judge's action "reprehensible" because it "underscores the increasingly inappropriate federal encroachment into the lives of Americans." He says Texas will continue to stand behind all who wish to pray in this state.