Istook Amendment Reintroduced In House.As Church & State was going to press, Rep. Ernest Istook (R-Okla.) reintroduced a constitutional amendment to effectively erase church-state separation from the Constitution. At a rally at the Bible Way Church near the Capitol in Washington, D.C., sponsored by Religious Right figure William Murray and accompanied by several gospel choirs, Istook presented his so-called "Religious Freedom Amendment" to significant fanfare. The effort comes 16 months after the House of Representatives rejected an identical effort to add Istook's measure to the Constitution. Though the vote was 224-206 in favor of the proposal, that tally fell far short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass a constitutional amendment. The text of the Istook scheme, which is identical to his previous effort, reads, "To secure the people's right to acknowledge God according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the dictates of conscience: Neither the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. nor any State shall establish any official religion, but the people's right to pray and to recognize their religious beliefs, heritage, or traditions on public property, including schools, shall not be infringed. Neither the United States nor any State shall require any person to join in prayer or other religious activity, prescribe pre·scribe v. To give directions, either orally or in writing, for the preparation and administration of a remedy to be used in the treatment of a disease. school prayers, discriminate dis·crim·i·nate v. dis·crim·i·nat·ed, dis·crim·i·nat·ing, dis·crim·i·nates v.intr. 1. a. against religion, or deny equal access to a benefit on account of religion." Constitutional experts believe the amendment would lead to mandatory prayer in public schools, provide support for private religious schools and allow display of religious symbols at government buildings. "Rep. Istook has again climbed aboard a train called `political pandering' to take the Constitution to a place it should not go," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn Reverend Barry W. Lynn (born 1948 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) has been the Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State since 1992.[1] , executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State Americans United for Separation of Church and State (Americans United or AU for short) is a religious freedom advocacy group in the United States which promotes the separation of church and state, a legal doctrine seen by the AU as being enshrined in the Establishment . Far from protecting religious freedom, this amendment would radically erase the liberties we currently enjoy. This is a full frontal assault The military tactic of frontal assault is a direct, hostile movement of forces towards enemy forces in a large number, in an attempt to overwhelm the enemy. This is often referred to as a "suicide strike," because it is often a commander's last resort when he has run out of on the First Amendment that will be repelled." House Majority Leader Dick Armey predicted that the amendment will meet with success this time. "It will pass the House" Armey said. |
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