Lawsuit Challenged Pledge of Allegiance And National Motto

U.S. District Judge William M. Conley in Madison, Wis., has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of engravings of the National Motto, “In God We Trust”, and the Pledge of Allegiance at the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C.  The Freedom From Religion Foundation says it won't give up effort to remove carvings.

Judge William M. Conley ruled  that the atheist Freedom From Religion Foundation did not have the legal standing to sue the Architect of the Capitol, the office responsible for the Capitol building and grounds, to remove the engravings and that it was pointless to try to stop the engravings, since they have already been made.

The judge noted that under prior Supreme Court precedents, taxpayers can only bring legal challenges for perceived injuries if the injuries are directly tied to specific appropriations by Congress.  “Plaintiffs fail to establish standing because they cannot point to any specific congressional appropriation for the allegedly unconstitutional concurrent resolution,” Conley wrote.

Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, said he was “extremely pleased” that the judge agreed that the suit should be dismissed.  Sekulow represented 50 members of Congress who defended the National Motto and Pledge, arguing that the atheist group's lawsuit "border(ed) on frivolous. This challenge was another misguided attempt to alter history and purge America of religious references.”

The Madison, WS based Freedom From Religion Foundation will be re-filing the lawsuit, according to the group’s president, Annie Laurie Gaylor.  “We did not lose on the merits, it’s procedural. And the merits we want to address, because the administration did write a brief on the merits and it’s just full of distorted history and the distorted perception of the separation of church and state that is required by our Constitution.”

The 50 members of Congress included 47 members of the House and three members of the Senate:

Senators Jim DeMint (R-SC), James Inhofe (R-OK) and Roger Wicker (R-MS); Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA), the chairman of the the chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus; Reps. Robert Aderholt (R-AL); Todd Akin (R-MO); Rodney Alexander (R-LA); Michele Bachmann (R-MN); Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD); Rob Bishop (R-UT); Marsha Blackburn (R-TN); Roy Blunt (R-MO); John Boehner (R-OH); John Boozman (R-AR); Dan Burton (R-IN); Eric Cantor (R-VA); Mike Conaway (R-TX); Virginia Foxx (R-NC); Scott Garrett (R-NJ); Bob Goodlatte (R-VA); Ralph Hall (R-TX); Gregg Harper (R-MS); Jeb Hensarling (R-TX); Bob Inglis (R-SC); Sam Johnson (R-TX); Walter Jones (R-NC); Jim Jordan (R-OH); Steve King (R-IA); John Kline (R-MN); Doug Lamborn (R-CO); Don Manzullo (R-IL); Kevin McCarthy (R-CA); Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI); Patrick McHenry (R-NC); Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA); Candice Miller (R-MI); Jeff Miller (R-FL); Jerry Moran (R-KS); Randy Neugebauer (R-TX); Mike Pence (R-IN); Joseph Pitts (R-PA); Ted Poe (R-TX); John Shadegg (R-AZ); John Shimkus (R-IL); Bill Shuster (R-PA); Mark Souder (R-IN); Todd Tiahrt (R-KS); Zack Wamp (R-TN); Joe Wilson (R-SC), and Don Young (R-AK).

Not one Democrat in Congress joined to preserve the National Motto or Pledge of Allegiance.  We need to save our rights that the left wants to strip from us.

Which party are you going to vote for in 28 days? The Paycheck Party or the Food Stamp Party?

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