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ACTION ALERT

A California court rules that "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional, again, and members of Congress respond

Sept. 14, 2005 - U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton ruled on Sept. 14 that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools is unconstitutional because it contains the phrase "under God." Judge Karlton said he was bound by 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals precedent in 2002 brought forward by Michael Newdow. The Supreme Court dismissed the case in 2004 on the basis of standing. Dr. Newdow filed this case on behalf of three unnamed parents and their children. Judge Karlton ruled that families have the right to sue so the standing problem of the previous case should no longer be an issue for future courts.

Thumbing their collective nose at the separation of powers required by the Constitution members of Congress immediately responded with a barrage of legislation:

Resolutions

• Republicans in the Senate introduced a resolution (S. Res. 243) stating,

  "That the Senate strongly disapproves of the September 14, 2005, decision by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California in Newdow, et al. v. The Congress of the United States of America, et al. . . . That the Senate authorizes and instructs the Senate Legal Counsel to continue to cooperate fully with the Attorney General in this case in order to vigorously defend the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance."

  This resolution was introduced by Jim Talent (R-MO), Bill Frist (R-TN), Rick Santorum (R-PA), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), John Cornyn (R-TX), Sam Brownback (R-KS), Trent Lott (R-MS), Charles E. Grassley (R-IA), Mel Martinez (R-FL), Jim Bunning (R-KY), George Allen (R-VA), Conrad Burns (R-MT), Ted Stevens (R-AL), Jim DeMint (R-SC), John Thune (R-SD), John Ensign (R-NV), and Jon L. Kyl (R-AZ) and was approved by "Unanimous Consent" on the same day it was introduced.

• S. Res. 244. Not wanting to be left out, Democrats introduced an almost identical resolution that was also passed by "Unanimous Consent" on the same day it was introduced. This resolution was introduced by Ken Salazar (D-CO), Jon S. Corzine (D-NJ), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Mark Pryor (D-AR), and Kent Conrad (D-ND).
  
  
• A resolution (H. Res. 453) "expressing the sense of the House" that Judge Karlton "erroneously ruled the Pledge of Allegiance's reference to 'one Nation, under God' violates school children's rights to be 'free from a coercive requirement to affirm God.'" was introduced by Thaddeus G. McCotter (R-MI), Charles Norwood (R-GA), Lincoln Davis (D-TN), Harold E. Ford, Jr. (D-TN), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Jean Schmidt (R-OH), Sam Johnson (R-TX), J. Gresham Barrett (R-SC), Steve Pearce (R-NM), Michael Ferguson (R-NJ), and Bill Shuster (R-PA). This bill is currently in the House Judiciary Committee.
  
  
• Another House resolution (H. Con. Res. 245) urges the Supreme Court to "speedily find" the use of "under God" in the Pledge constitutional. This bill is also in the House Judiciary Committee. It was introduced by Darrell E. Issa (R-CA) and has 31 co-sponsors.
  
  

Constitutional Amendment

• Not satisfied with resolutions, Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) introduced S. J. Res. 24, which proposes to add an amendment to the Constitution stating that a "reference to God in the Pledge of Allegiance or on United States currency shall not be construed as affecting the establishment of religion…" This legislation is currently in Committee of the Judiciary.

  These reactions to Judge Karlton's ruling are in addition to two other bills previously introduced in Congress: S. 1046 Pledge Protection Act of 2005 by John Kyl (R-AZ) with 11 co-sponsors seeking to remove jurisdiction of Pledge cases from the courts; H.R. 2389 the House version of S. 1046 introduced by W. Todd Akin (R-MO) with 187 co-sponsors. Both these bills have been referred to their respective Judiciary Committees.

Take a Stand: If one of your members of Congress sponsored or cosponsored any of the above bills, please e-mail or call him/her to state that as a nontheist you disapprove of Congressional interference in the judicial role and you hope that someday s/he will understand that the phrase "under God" is a harsh daily intrusion into the parental and student rights of non-believers.

You can contact your Senators through their websites. You can contact your Representatives through their websites. You can find either through the Legislator/Media Lookup by Zip Code.