I am writing as a proponent of a moment of silence in place of a prayer, in response to Rep. John Kavanagh’s letter last week. He claimed that Rep. Athena Salman led an invocation on the House floor on Feb. 11 that was the opposite of prayer and was not what she had volunteered to lead.

He wanted her to include the Christian God in her prayer, but she did not. It is a violation of the U.S. Constitution and the Arizona Constitution to dictate how other people pray. Rep. Kavanagh may not agree with how Rep. Salman said her prayer, but she has a constitutional right to say it however she wants.

In his letter Rep. Kavanagh said, “...the member volunteered to lead the chamber in prayer. Consequently, all who stood with her...were accepting her words as their words of prayer. The member was speaking for them as their prayer leader. Only at the end was it apparent that the atheist member had put ungodly words into the mouths of all present. That was wrong and offensive.”

Following that logic, anyone who isn’t the same religion as the person leading a prayer on the House floor is having words put into their mouths that are potentially wrong and offensive. The way to avoid that is to have a moment of silence. Only then can the attendees put their own words and thoughts in their mouths.