The Advocate, Wednesday, November 30, 2005, p. 6B.
Urge Congress to rein in U.S. judges
Among the measures passed by the Louisiana Legislature's recent special session addressing Hurricane Katrina/Rita challenges was Senate Concurrent Resolution Number 30 (SCR30), (http://www.legis.state.la.us/billdata/streamdocument.asp?did=327668, that urges Congress to enact the Constitution Restoration Act of 2005 (CRA2005) now (pending before Congress as Senate Bill 520 and House Resolution 1070)
(http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/Cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=l09_cong_bills&docidi=f:s520is.txt.pdf).SCR30 by Sen. Mike Smith, D-Winnfield,—passed without a dissenting vote—is the first of its kind in the nation, finding that "... the federal judiciary has overstepped its constitutional boundaries and ruled against the acknowledgement of God as the sovereign source of law, liberty, and government by local and state officers and other state institutions, including state schools. ...” SCR30 concludes by urging Congress "to adopt CRA2005 and in doing so protecting the ability of the people of Louisiana to display the Ten Commandments in public places, to express their faith in public, to retain God in the Pledge of Allegiance, to retain 'In God We Trust’ as our national motto, and to use Article III, Section 2.2 of the United States Constitution to except these areas from the jurisdiction of the United States Supreme Court."
It is appropriate that the Louisiana Legislature passed this resolution urging Congress to enact CRA2005 at the same time that a national survey was released indicating that Americans view religion as being under attack in America. According to the poll, American Attitudes Toward Religion in the Public Square, (http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=57024, sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League, 64 percent of those surveyed agreed with the statement that "religion is under attack" in America. Only 32 percent disagreed with that statement. Among those who consider themselves fundamentalist/evangelical/charismatic Christians, the result rose to 80 percent.
One practical effect of Congress passing the CRA2005 would be to remove such faith issues from the jurisdiction of federal judges such as the one in New Orleans who is a former ACLU state president and recently ruled in favor of the ACLU regarding its challenge to the Tangipahoa Parish School Board’s policy of opening its meetings in prayer. In light of the generation-long purge of Godly values in the public square at the instance of the federal judiciary, can you imagine any deliberative body in America morein need of prayer than a local school board?
Some of Louisiana's congressional delegation (Rodney Alexander, Bobby Jindal, David Vitter) but not all, are already co-authors of CRA2005. Now would be an exceptionally good time for constitution-loving citizens to urge our other lawmakers to stand for traditional values where it will make a difference. This legislation—the ACLU’s worst nightmare—would eliminate Michael Newdow as a topic of conversation. We should have done it a generation ago.
RETIRED JUDGE DARRELL WHITE
815 Louray Drive
Baton Rouge