Posted on 02/16/2012 2:03:02 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Oral arguments were heard in a Massachusetts Superior Court on Monday over a lawsuit filed by an atheist couple who believe that their children are being discriminated against because the Pledge of Allegiance – which is said every day in Mass. public school classrooms under state law – contains the phrase "under God." "The daily recitation in public schools of a pledge declaring that the nation is 'under God' is discriminatory toward atheists and humanists," David Niose, president of the American Humanist Association and lead attorney for the plaintiffs in the case, stated.
"No child should go to school each day to have the class declare that her religious beliefs are wrong in an exercise that portrays her and her family as less patriotic than believers."
The parents Niose is representing in the case, who are identified only as John and Jane Doe in the suit, have three children enrolled in Acton Public Schools and the Acton-Boxborough Regional School District, the defendants in the suit.
Niose told the judge that the pledge discriminates against the children and "defines patriotism according to a particular religious belief," The Associated Press reports. The suit, originally filed in November 2010, says the three children want to participate in the act of patriotism but don't want to violate their atheistic beliefs.
But the district's superintendent, Stephen Mills, told CBS Boston that his school district is just following the letter of the law.
"Students have a right to not say it all, the entire pledge," said Mills, who is also named as a defendant in the case. "I would be acting illegally if the kids didn't say pledge of allegiance."
According to Diana Verm, legal counsel for The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, this case is somewhat unique.
In the past, those who have filed suits against the saying of the pledge have primarily argued that it violates the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says the government cannot endorse a particular religion over another. This is the first case Verm is aware of that appeals exclusively to a state's equal protection laws.
In October 2011, The Becket Fund filed a motion to intervene in the case on behalf of Daniel and Ingrid Joyce, the parents of two students from the same school district who want to continue saying the pledge in class just as it is. The organization is also representing the Knights of Columbus – an organization that helped get "under God" included in the pledge back in 1954 – in the case.
"We intervened in the lawsuit because we wanted our clients' voices to be heard, that there are people who value the pledge and its political meaning and they want to continue saying it," Verm told The Christian Post on Tuesday.
The motion to intervene essentially makes the Joyces and the Knights of Columbus co-defendants along with the school district, so that their views can all be expressed in court.
While the plaintiffs believe removing "under God" from the pledge will allow them to finally be patriotic while saying it, Verm says removing the phrase violates others' sense of patriotism.
"Basically, the words 'under God' are a statement of political philosophy that mean that our rights come not from the state, but from something higher than the state," said Verm. "So students understand that when they say the Pledge of Allegiance they're not [saying] a prayer, but they're participating in a patriotic exercise that recognizes America's rich tradition of natural rights."
The judge who heard Monday's arguments did not immediately rule on the case.
If these two b@$*@%#$ win their case, the OTHER parents should sue on the grounds that THEIR kids are being discrminated against because THEY CAN’T say the Pledge of Allegiance WITH God in it.
Unless we use the same tactics against them and get proactive, this will never stop.
RE: , the OTHER parents should sue on the grounds that THEIR kids are being discrminated against because THEY CAN’T say the Pledge of Allegiance WITH God in it.
_______________________
So, how does a modern Solomon solve this dilemma. If you decide for one party, the otehr party gets offended and vice versa.
Not everyone will be happy with ANY decision made.
There is a simple solution.
Go to a school where the Pledge isn’t recited every morning. China comes to mind.
RE: Go to a school where the Pledge isn’t recited every morning. China comes to mind.
They don’t have to go overseas, they can always home school.
Atheists, homeschooling? Now this I’d like to see...
This has been argued before the US supreme court and they sided with having voluntary recitation of our pledge
State courts are unlikely to rule differently. I know the USSC case law will be mentioned
No child is forced to recite the pledge any longer anyways
This is a dumb lawsuit just on that alone
Shouldn’t the majority rule?
Last I heard, 85% of Americans believed in God.
These atheists need to be sued into oblivion. Run their money out.
Just your friendly neighborhood godless commies at work:
http://www.uhuh.com/nwo/communism/comgoals.htm
28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of “separation of church and state.”
A little background. The phrase “under God” was added by legislation in around 1954 as a result of President Eisenhower attending the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington.
The pastor, Dr. George Docherty, suggested the addition in one of his sermons and Eisenhower thought it a good idea and had some Congressmen present the legislation, which, of course, passed.
Dr. Docherty died about five years ago. I was a member of that church in 1967-72 and he counseled my wife-to=be and me prior to our marriage. He was an incredibly erudite man.
Small world, isn’t it?
Yes, and no judge should even consent to hear the case.
Our friendly neighborhood godless commies are pawms of Satan and his demon angels. Nothing less than that.
They sure don’t mind evolution being shoved down Christian children’s throats even though that goes against biblical teachings.
They can have ‘under God’ removed when they get evolution out of the schools.
Do these effing hypocrite atheists not use coins and paper money too because, in God we trust is on them?
Then home school or move from the public school to private school. Simple....Better yet move to an atheist country where you'd fit right in The USA is still 'One nation under God'....even our currency reflects this...people such as this need to leave our country IMO.
Then home school or move from the public school to private school. Simple....Better yet move to an atheist country where you'd fit right in The USA is still 'One nation under God'....even our currency reflects this...people such as this need to leave our country IMO.
RE: Do these effing hypocrite atheists not use coins and paper money too because, in God we trust is on them?
SHHH... Not too loud, you wouldn’t want to give them any more ideas....
Already been tried. Didn’t work.
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