Amendment Would Reverse Ruling on Ten Commandments

Over 100 congressmen have introduced a constitutional amendment to protect religious expression on public property.

Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) joined Rep. Ernest Istook (R-Okla.), other congressmen and pro-family groups to propose the Religious Freedom Amendment (RFA), an effort to reverse the U.S. Supreme Court ruling which removed the Ten Commandments from a Kentucky courthouse.

"Deeply religious European colonists escaped the two tyrannies of the crown and the church and came to America," said Bartlett in a statement. "Our founders created a country and a Constitution that protected the ability of individuals to freely express their respective religions in public life.

"They had no fear of religion in the public square. They felt that religious faith was vitally important to create and maintain our democratic republic as a just society. What they opposed was a state religion. The latest pair of Supreme Court decisions adds to decades of confusion about what seems so simple to most Americans," said Bartlett.

"The Supreme Court has sent a clear message to public officials everywhere: They will face an onslaught of expensive litigation unless they remove the Ten Commandments from public property," said Istook in a statement.

"Intolerant people have been attacking the Ten Commandments, the Pledge of Allegiance, voluntary prayers at school, and other religious expression, but this amendment will halt those attacks," added Istook.
The amendment reads: "To secure the people's right to acknowledge God according to the dictates of conscience: The people retain the right to pray and to recognize their religious beliefs, heritage and traditions on public property, including schools. The United States and the States shall not establish any official religion nor require any person to join in prayer or religious activity."

A two-thirds vote in the House and Senate is required to pass the constitutional amendment. Then, it must be ratified by three-fourths of the 50 states, without necessary approval by the president or the governors.