Wednesday, July 3, 2002
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Wednesday, July 3, 2002 |
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Pledge ruling 'ridiculous,' Collins says
In a show of support of our nation's institutions, Members of Congress met on the House floor recently to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Following the pledge, U.S. Representative Mac Collins called on all Third Congressional District schools to ignore the recent ninth circuit appeals court order and recite the pledge. "It is outrageous that a court of this nation could possibly reach such an asinine decision about an American institution like the Pledge of Allegiance," said Collins. "This is yet further proof of the void of responsible people in our judicial system and the need for the Senate to finish confirming the President's judicial nominees. I sincerely urge schools in Georgia to ignore this ridiculous ruling." The current Pledge of Allegiance was adopted in 1954, when the term "under God" was added to the then 62-year-old pledge. At that time President Dwight D. Eisenhower remarked, "In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America's heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country's most powerful resource in peace and war." On Wednesday, the ninth circuit court in San Francisco ruled the recitation of the pledge in schools was unconstitutional because it was a state-sponsored endorsement of religion and violated the constitutional requirement for a separation between church and state. "The term 'separation of church and state' is not in the Constitution," said Collins. "Jefferson wrote it in a letter and the purpose of it was to keep the government from interfering with the church, and not the other way around. What the First Amendment does promise us is freedom OF religious expression, not freedom FROM it." "I condemn this ruling, and say let's get it to the Supreme Court so we can get this act of stupidity over and done with," Collins said. "When you remove God from everything, all you are left with is an ungodly place to live."
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