ACTION ALERT
Urge your Senators to vote NO on Alito, and to filibuster if necessary
On January 31 the Senate confirmed the nomination of Alito in a 58-42 vote. Go here to find out how your Senator voted.
Jan. 17, 2006 - During the confirmation hearings last week, Senator Richard Durbin asked Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito about his views on church/state. (If you reside in Illinois, please call (202) 224-2152 or use the e-mail form at http://durbin.senate.gov/contact.cfm and thank your Senator for raising the question.) Alito's response was that having public school students vote for a fellow student to give a graduation prayer was like protected private student speech. He emphasized that a majority of the students would make the decision, not the administration of the school.
Consider what the school experience would be like for our public school children if the U.S. Supreme Court agreed that the majority could impose religious exercises on the minority, be they atheist students, or students from other religious backgrounds than the one for which the majority voted. Allowing First Amendment minority protections to be overridden by majority vote would be antithetical to the core purpose of prohibiting a government religion.
The U.S. Supreme Court is the final arbiter of Constitutional issues. An appointment to this court is for life. The court is closely divided on issues of religion in government; that is why the Secular Coalition for America also seeks a filibuster if necessary to prevent Samuel Alito's confirmation. Congress has agreed not to filibuster unless there is an exceptional need to do so. This is such a case. Shifting the highest court in our nation to one which is not committed to protecting religious minorities (including the nonreligious) could have tremendous negative impact for many years to come. Please contact both of your state's U.S. Senators this week. A vote on Alito's nomination is expected early next week.
Take a Stand: Urge your Senators to vote NO on Alito and filibuster to stop his appointment if necessary.
You can contact your Senators through their websites or through the Legislator/Media Lookup by Zip Code.