Action Alert

(Washington DC, June 28, 2002) Now is the time to show our dissatisfaction with the way our elected officials have handled the recent Pledge ruling.

Yesterday President Bush denounced the common sense San Francisco court ruling that decided children should not have to feel coerced to give false statements of sectarian belief in public school. With this decision by the court, there is now a hope that the Pledge of Allegiance can be returned to its original form, without the "under God" wording that the Knights of Columbus lobbied successfully for in the 1950s.

Bush then went on to establish a criterion of particular religious belief for judicial appointments, saying, "I believe that it points up the fact that we need common sense judges who understand that our rights were derived from God. Those are the kind of judges I intend to put on the bench." Bush's public statement of intent to discriminate on religious grounds makes a mockery of the US Constitution. Article VI states “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”

Bush ignores the 30 million Americans who identify with no religion, as well as faithful Buddhists, Hindus and others who do not subscribe to his monotheistic test for judicial competency. Bush’s criterion is so vague and subjective that he might find only a small percentage of Americans religiously acceptable for the courts.

Within 24 hours of the Pledge ruling, both the Senate and the House passed expressions of outrage over the court’s decision in the form of official Resolutions. Rep. Bobbie Scott (D-VA), Rep. Pete Stark (S-CA) and Rep. Michael Honda (D-CA) were the only ones that spoke against and voted against these reactionary resolutions. All other voting Senators and Representatives voted in favor of these public statements of religious outrage.

Humanists and other concerned citizens should now let our elected officials know just how outraged WE are. Please take the time to call, write and email these politicians and tell them how you feel. President Bush’s contact information follows. To find contact information for your elected officials visit: http://www.firstgov.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

If you are looking for wording to use in your responses, visit our web-site at: http://www.americanhumanist.org/pledge.html and be sure to let us know how your calls go and copy us on your letters and e-mails.

For more information on the Pledge of Allegiance, please click on Pledge of Allegiance

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