Posted on 07/15/2009 9:06:05 AM PDT by FromLori
The nation's largest group of atheists and agnostics filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to block an architect from engraving "In God We Trust" and the Pledge of Allegiance at the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington.
The Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation's lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in western Wisconsin, claims the taxpayer-funded engravings would be an unconstitutional endorsement of religion.
The House and Senate passed identical resolutions this month directing the Architect of the Capitol to engrave "In God We Trust" and the pledge in prominent places at the entrance for 3 million tourists who visit the Capitol each year.
The resolution came in response to critics who complained Congress spent $621 million on the new three-story underground center without paying respect to the nation's religious heritage. The center opened in December after years of construction.
The foundation is seeking a court order to stop the engravings, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates will cost less than $100,000.
"In God We Trust" has been the national motto since 1956 and has appeared on U.S. currency since 1957.
The lawsuit says both the motto and the words "under God" in the pledge were adopted during the Cold War as anti-communism measures. Engraving them at the entrance to the U.S. Capitol would discriminate against those who do not practice religion and unfairly promote a Judeo-Christian perspective, it says.
Members of Congress who supported the measure swiftly denounced the lawsuit.
"This lawsuit is another attempt by liberal activists to rewrite history and deny that America's Judeo-Christian heritage is an essential foundation stone of our great nation," said Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa.
Rep. Daniel Lungren, R-Calif., said he was expecting a lawsuit but called the claims "patently absurd."
The foundation also is challenging the constitutionality of the National Day of Prayer in federal
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Sodom, Gomorrah, Washington DC....
That means these guys are, at best, fallen Atheists.
How utterly meaningless they all are eh!
The USSC has long treated it as settled precedent that references to a ceremonial deity don’t infringe the 1st Amendment.
While it’s sure tempting to take the Mullah approach to these challenging people, the Bible spells out a better way.
These groups have all the rights and liberties afforded to them in the constitution of the United States. A constitution that was written by the founders of our country. These founders included reference to God in the constitution. Since that time men and women have fought and died to keep the constitution’s contents alive and active.
Now these groups want to edit the very words from the original document that gave them the right to make such statements. Doing so would repeal their right to make such statements and then their goal would become mute.
The wacky left is not the Bastian of tolerance. If they had their way, Crosses at National cemeteries would be replaced.
..then WE THE PEOPLE should get a BIGGGGER group and tell them to set down, shut up, and if it alienates them, then leave and don’t let the door hit you in the ass on your way out of the country.
That is something else that could be coordinated through the New GOP!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.