Posted on 03/29/2004 12:57:53 PM PST by PatriotEdition
God and Judges: Justice in the Balance
By David Brody
CBN.com – WASHINGTON - There's a new bill in both the House and the Senate that would prevent judges from ruling on cases that involve the acknowledgement of God. In other words, judges would no longer be able to get involved in issues like the Ten Commandments, the Pledge of Allegiance or school prayer. But the bill is running into some stumbling blocks.
It seems nowadays it is one case after another, judges ruling against the acknowledgment of God in the public square. The Ten Commandments in Alabama - gone, moved out of sight. Or the Pledge of Allegiance, the words "under God" ruled unconstitutional. The list is long and it goes back decades, to when school prayer was removed from public school, and Bible reading was a 'no-no' as well.
But some in Congress say it is time to take a stand. Congressman Robert Aderholt (R-AL) said, "To say that this country was not founded on the principles that acknowledge God is to completely deny history, and I think what's important to remember in all of this legislation that we're looking at."
Aderholt says look up article 3, section two of the Constitution. It says in black and white that Congress has the power to regulate the power of the judicial branch: "The Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make."
Though the bill's backers say this all makes sense, it is on hold in the House Judiciary Committee. Committee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) isn't inclined to move it. His office tells me that since this is somewhat of a new issue on the agenda, so it needs more time to be examined.
Plus, it has just a few congressmen sponsoring it, so they don't see a need to move it at this point. Aderholt said "Anytime that you deal with the article 3 and restricting the federal courts, then I think any member of Congress will think say this must be an issue that we have to look at very slowly."
If this bill ever becomes a reality, its supporters say our country would be far better off. Because, they say, the acknowledgement of God lies at the heart of our nation's founding, and this bill would make references to God in the public square off-limits for tinkering by judges. For example, those nativity scenes that the ACLU wants to get rid of would be safe, because a judge couldn't rule on a case like that. Same thing goes for Ten Commandment displays. They are safe with this bill, as well as the motto, "In God we trust."
But for all of that to become a reality, the bill's supporters say, the public must engage. Rule 101 in Congress is that Congress doesn't lead, it responds. Former Congressman Bill Dannemeyer says that is what it will take to get the bill moving.
Dannemeyer said, "When the people in America contact their members of Congress to do something, members pay attention. And that's what we need to do in order to get the attention of Jim Sensenbrenner - he's a good friend of mine, you know - to set these bills for hearings."
Aderholt hopes Sensenbrenner will understand the need to move this bill. Aderholt said, "He has been talked to about this legislation. I hope to be meeting with him in the near future, about when we could get through committee, but Tom Delay [R-TX] is the majority leader, and he is certainly open to legislation like this."
Backers of the bill say don't expect to see coverage of this issue on the front page of liberal newspapers like The New York Times and The Washington Post. This will have to be a grassroots effort.
"Let's face it," Dannemeyer said. "The media in this country is controlled by people on the Left. They have chosen to ignore this, and they'll continue to ignore it until the people of this country tell their members of Congress to get this job done."
Time is running out, though. With a presidential election year looming in November, the Congress likes to get bills moved earlier, rather than later. And the bill's backers say this really is a crisis that needs immediate action.
Along with the House Bill to call or e-mail your Represenative or Senator on.
People need to see this bill and to get involved by supporting it.
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