Action Alert

Within the next two months, though it could be any day now, the Supreme Court will announce its ruling in Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow, the case challenging the constitutionality of the recitation in public schools of the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. The American Humanist Association proudly stood by Newdow's challenge every step of the way and submitted a friend-of-the-court brief on his behalf. Humanists everywhere must be ready to respond immediately after a ruling is handed down. The Humanist perspective must not be absent from the media firestorm that is bound to erupt that day.

Regardless of which way the court rules, this will be a landmark decision with implications that will reverberate nationwide. As Humanists we must be prepared to celebrate a victory that affirms church-state separation or decry a ruling that lowers the already vulnerable wall between them and renders the non-religious second-class citizens.

We urge you to join the AHA and its coalition partners in coordinating local rallies nationwide.

ACTION

We are asking our members and other like-minded groups to organize rallies the day the ruling is announced.

If the pledge decision is announced in the morning, as most Supreme Court decisions are, please rally at 5 pm that same day. If the decision is announced after 2 pm, please rally on the following day at 9 am. We encourage you to invite as many supporters as possible and to alert the local media to ensure press coverage.

Please begin planning for the rally right now, since it is not possible to know exactly when the decision will be handed down. In order to prepare, local groups should announce a rally location in advance to local members, ideally outside a federal courthouse or other federal building. Please consider coordinating your efforts with our coalition partners and allies such as the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the various atheist and freethought groups. Since local stories are immensely important, do not feel obligated to have only one central rally at the state capital.

Please have posters ready for either ruling and let our Humanist voice be heard. If the court rules in favor of Newdow then posters that have messages like, "Finally, a Pledge ALL Our Children Can Live Under," "One Nation United Under the Constitution," or "A New Day with Newdow" would be appropriate. Conversely, if the court rules against Newdow consider displaying posters reading, "Under God is Not Under the Constitution," "INDIVISIBLE?," or "Where Are MY Rights?" Be creative and personal.

See Pledge talking points at http://www.americanhumanist.org/pledge.html for background information and watch for an AHA alert announcing the decision.

For more on the Plege of Allegiance, please click on Pledge of Allegiance Case

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