[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3190 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3190

                 To safeguard our religious liberties.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 25, 2003

Mr. Pickering introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
                 To safeguard our religious liberties.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Safeguarding Our Religious Liberties 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Declaration of Independence declares that 
        governments are instituted to secure certain unalienable 
        rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, 
        with which all human beings are endowed by their Creator and to 
        which they are entitled by the laws of nature and of nature's 
        God.
            (2) The organic laws of the United States Code and the 
        constitutions of every State, using various expressions, 
        recognize God as the source of the blessings of liberty.
            (3) The first amendment to the Constitution secures rights 
        against laws respecting an establishment of religion or 
        prohibiting the free exercise thereof made by the Federal 
        Government.
            (4) The rights secured under the first amendment have been 
        interpreted by the Federal courts to be included among the 
        provisions of the 14th amendment.
            (5) The 10th amendment reserves to the States, 
        respectively, the powers not delegated to the Federal 
        Government nor prohibited to the States.
            (6) Disputes and doubts have arisen with respect to public 
        displays of the Ten Commandments and to other public expression 
        of religious faith.
            (7) Section 5 of the 14th amendment grants Congress the 
        power to enforce the provisions of the 14th amendment.
            (8) Article III, section 2 of the Constitution grants 
        Congress the authority to except certain matters from the 
        jurisdiction of the Federal courts inferior to the Supreme 
        Court.

SEC. 3. RELIGIOUS LIBERTY RIGHTS DECLARED.

    (a) Display of Ten Commandments.--The power to display the Ten 
Commandments on or within property owned or administered by the several 
States or political subdivisions of such States is among the powers 
reserved to the States, respectively.
    (b) Word ``God'' in Pledge of Allegiance.--The power to recite the 
Pledge of Allegiance on or within property owned or administered by the 
several States or political subdivisions of such States is among the 
powers reserved to the States, respectively. The Pledge of Allegiance 
shall be, ``I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of 
America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, 
indivisible, with Liberty and justice for all.''.
    (c) Motto ``In God We Trust''.--The power to recite the national 
motto on or within property owned or administered by the several States 
or political subdivisions of such States is among the powers reserved 
to the States, respectively. The national motto shall be, ``In God we 
trust''.
    (d) Exercise of Congressional Power to Except.--The subject matter 
of subsections (a), (b), and (c) are excepted from the jurisdiction of 
Federal courts inferior to the Supreme Court.
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