[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 453 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 453

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to a 
          court decision relating to the Pledge of Allegiance.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 20, 2005

  Mr. McCotter (for himself, Mr. Norwood, Mr. Davis of Tennessee, Mr. 
Ford, Mrs. Capito, Mrs. Schmidt, Mr. Sam Johnson of Texas, Mr. Barrett 
of South Carolina, Mr. Pearce, Mr. Ferguson, and Mr. Shuster) submitted 
 the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to a 
          court decision relating to the Pledge of Allegiance.

Whereas on September 14, 2005, United States District Judge Lawrence Karlton 
        erroneously ruled the Pledge of Allegiance's reference to ``one Nation, 
        under God'' violates school children's right to be ``free from a 
        coercive requirement to affirm God'';
Whereas on September 14, 2005, United States District Judge Lawrence Karlton 
        cited the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Newdow v. United 
        States Congress (292 F.3d 597; 9th Cir. 2002) and erroneously ruled the 
        Pledge of Allegiance's phrase, ``one Nation, under God'', violates 
        school children's right to be ``free from a coercive requirement to 
        affirm God''; claimed this phrase was added to the pledge in 1954 solely 
        to advance religion in violation of the establishment clause; and 
        averred the public schools' daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance 
        coerces reluctant students into participating in a religious exercise in 
        violation of the establishment clause of the first amendment;
Whereas however, the Supreme Court dismissed the case of Newdow v. the United 
        States Congress, finding the plaintiff lacked standing;
Whereas the decision by Judge Karlton wrongfully endangers Americans' 
        constitutionally protected, First Amendment right to the free exercise 
        of religion by illogically deeming the Pledge of Allegiance's phrase, 
        ``one Nation, under God,'' as the establishment of a state-approved 
        religious sect and, further, contradicts the clear implication of the 
        holdings in various Supreme Court cases and the spirit of numerous other 
        Supreme Court cases in which members of the Court have explicitly stated 
        the voluntary recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag is 
        consistent with the First Amendment;
Whereas Judge Karlton's ruling ignores the fact the Pledge of Allegiance 
        reflects our nation's founding was largely inspired by the Founders' 
        historically expressed and documented religious beliefs, which is the 
        precise reason why Americans do not derive their inalienable rights from 
        government, but rather government derives from the inalienable rights of 
        Americans;
Whereas the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag is not a prayer or statement of 
        religious faith, and its recitation is not a religious exercise, but 
        rather, is a patriotic exercise where a citizen expresses support for 
        the United States and pledges allegiance to the flag, the principles for 
        which the flag stands, and our nation;
Whereas the House of Representatives recognizes the right of those who do not 
        share the beliefs expressed in the pledge or who do not wish to pledge 
        allegiance to the flag to refrain from its recitation;
Whereas rather than promoting neutrality on the question of religious belief, 
        this decision requires public school districts to adopt a preference 
        against speech containing religious references;
Whereas the voluntary recitation by public school students of numerous 
        historical and founding documents, such as the Declaration of 
        Independence, the Constitution, and the Gettysburg Address, are now 
        endangered by the absurd rationale of Judge Karlton's judicial fiat;
Whereas this decision is in direct conflict with the Seventh Circuit Court of 
        Appeals which, in Sherman v. Community Consolidated School District (980 
        F.2d 437; 7th Cir. 1992), held a school district's policy allowing for 
        the voluntary recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag in 
        public schools does not violate the establishment clause of the first 
        amendment;
Whereas Congress has consistently supported the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag 
        by starting each session with its recitation;
Whereas the House of Representatives reaffirmed support for the Pledge of 
        Allegiance to the Flag in the 107th Congress by adopting House 
        Resolution 459 on June 26, 2002, by a vote of 416-3 and in the 108th 
        Congress by adopting House Resolution 132 on March 20, 2003, by a vote 
        of 400-7; and
Whereas the United States Senate reaffirmed support for the Pledge of Allegiance 
        to the Flag in the 107th Congress by adopting Senate Resolution 292 on 
        June 26, 2002, by a vote of 99-0 and in the 108th Congress by adopting 
        Senate Resolution 71 on March 4, 2003, by a vote of 94-0: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) the phrase ``one Nation, under God'' in the Pledge of 
        Allegiance to the Flag reflects historically factual religious 
        faith central to the lives of the Founders and the founding of 
        our Nation;
            (2) the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, 
        including the phrase, ``one Nation, under God'' is a patriotic 
        act, not an act or statement of religious faith or belief;
            (3) the phrase ``one Nation, under God'' should remain in 
        the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and the practice of 
        voluntarily reciting the pledge in public school classrooms 
        should not only continue but should be encouraged by the 
        policies of Congress, the various States, municipalities, and 
        public school officials;
            (4) because the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance 
        preserves and promotes our Republic's vital virtue of 
        citizenship amongst our children, the school district where the 
        legal challenge to the pledge originated, the Elk Grove Unified 
        School District in Elk Grove, California, is recognized and 
        commended for its continued support of the Pledge of Allegiance 
        to the Flag;
            (5) the ruling by United States District Judge Lawrence 
        Karlton is inconsistent with the Supreme Court's interpretation 
        of the first amendment, which indicates the voluntary 
        recitation of the pledge and similar patriotic expressions is 
        consistent with the first amendment; and
            (6) the Attorney General should appeal the ruling in Newdow 
        v. United States Congress, and the Supreme Court should review 
        this ruling in order to correct this constitutionally infirm 
        and historically incorrect ruling which infringes upon and 
        endangers the inalienable rights of all Americans.
                                 <all>