Press Release

House Passage of Pledge Protection Act Tramples on Rights of Nonreligious and Religious Minorities

For Immediate Release - Contact: Roy Speckhardt at (202) 238-9088

(Washington, DC, September 23, 2004) "We at the American Humanist Association are frustrated over the House of Representatives overwhelming disregard for the long held American legal principles of due process and separation of powers. If this bill becomes law, it will slam federal courthouse doors in the face of Humanists and Americans of minority faiths. Furthermore, in rejecting an amendment to the bill that was proposed to protect those who are coerced into reciting the Pledge, Congress exposes the bill for what it is, the imposition of religious ideology," states Tony Hileman, executive director of the AHA.

The Pledge Protection Act, H.R. 2028 would prevent all federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, from hearing cases pertaining to the interpretation of, or the validity under the Constitution of, the Pledge of Allegiance; thus denying access to the federal courts to many groups who've already expressed First Amendment concerns about the Pledge of Allegiance.

"The Pledge Protection Act would set a dangerous precedent by stripping federal courts of judicial independence and paving the way to prevent federal judges from ruling on other controversial social issues from abortion and gun control to school vouchers and school prayer," states Mel Lipman, AHA president and constitutional lawyer. In addition to disregarding reliable advice from constitutional law experts, the House vote ignores Congress's historic record of rejecting similar attempts to strip the courts of their power to review constitutional questions.

The AHA argued in a recent letter distributed to Representatives that the Pledge Protection Act presents a "serious separation of powers concern."

Federal courts are uniquely prepared to interpret federal constitutional concerns and to serve as a check on the constitutionality of actions by the Congress and the Executive branch. "Congress should not disrupt the balance of power intended by our Founding Fathers. Restricting the federal courts' ability to protect First Amendment rights severely undermines the American judicial system," continues Lipman.

The AHA is mobilizing thousands of members across the nation to raise their voices in opposition as Humanists are particularly threatened by this bill and see it as a violation of judicial independence for partisan political gain.

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