[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6072]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     JUDGE REJECTS FIRST AMENDMENT

  (Mr. POE of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Federal Judge Barbara Crabb sided with 
some atheists last week and wrongly ruled the National Day of Prayer is 
unconstitutional.
  The first amendment to the Constitution states, ``Congress shall make 
no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free 
exercise thereof.'' The judge obviously forgot the ``free exercise'' 
part.
  Our Founding Fathers jealously guarded the right to free exercise of 
religious conscience. Thanksgiving was started in 1789 by President 
George Washington so the Nation could, ``Thank and pray to the Almighty 
for blessing America.'' We start each day of Congress with a prayer. 
Heaven knows we need it. We have a long history of honoring the 
religious foundation of America's liberty.
  The National Day of Prayer does not seek to establish a government 
religion. Quite to the contrary, we specifically recognize one day each 
year the right of Americans to freely exercise their religion, free 
from anyone's interference, including atheists and Federal judges.
  What's next, Judge Crabb? You going to ban Thanksgiving and Christmas 
as national holidays?
  And that's just the way it is.

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