[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 52 (Friday, May 1, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E738-E739]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             LAW DAY, 1998

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES H. MALONEY

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 30, 1998

  Mr. MALONEY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, May 1, 1998 is Law Day in 
our nation, a day

[[Page E739]]

set aside to remind all of us of the importance of the Constitutional 
rights and civic responsibilities associated with American citizenship. 
It is a day to reflect on the true meaning of our right to free speech, 
to worship in the way that best serves our conscience, to select our 
representatives in government and to even be critical of that 
government as needed. These and other basic rights are often taken for 
granted, but one only needs to view the nightly news to appreciate that 
our cherished rights and freedoms are not enjoyed everywhere. Law Day 
gives us occasion to celebrate those rights and freedoms.
  When President Dwight Eisenhower established Law Day in 1958, he 
said, ``It is fitting that the American people should remember with 
pride, and vigilantly guard, our great heritage of liberty, justice and 
equality under law.'' He further stated, ``It is our moral and civic 
obligation as a free people to preserve and strengthen that great 
heritage.'' Law Day provides the forum for that celebration.
  On Friday, in communities across this nation, ceremonies will be held 
in courthouses and town halls. Such will be the case in Superior Court 
in Meriden, Connecticut, located in our state's 5th Congressional 
District. That ceremony, hosted by the Meriden Bar Association, will 
focus on this year's general theme, ``Celebrate Your Freedom.'' School 
children, as well as citizens from all walks of life, will be in 
attendance to hear speakers stress the importance of the freedoms and 
liberties guaranteed by our Constitution and Bill of Rights, and 
protected by our laws and courts.
  I urge all Americans to pause on this very special day and consider 
the true significance of the rights and liberties we enjoy every day in 
this country. Such recognition is important to maintaining those 
rights. As Alfred H. Knight said in his American Bar Association Silver 
Gavel Award-winning book, The Law of life, ``we are more likely to lose 
the meaning of our freedoms through ignorance and carelessness than 
through intentional government evil.''
  Mr. Speaker, I call on you and each Member of the House of 
Representatives, to take this day to heart and help lead the effort to 
bring the importance of our freedoms, and the laws that protect them, 
to the attention of the American public on not just Friday, May 1st, 
but every day of the year. On behalf of Connecticut's 5th Congressional 
District, I want to commend the Meriden Bar Association for their 
contribution to this cause in the name of Freedom.

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