Pledge to Protect the Constitution

Talk about misguided priorities, the Republicans in Congress are at it again. On Monday they decided same-sex marriage was a more important topic for discussion than the serious energy crunch Americans are facing. More serious that the immigration crisis, the war in Iraq, or the president rattling his saber at Iran. So guess what the new big topic is ... the Pledge of Allegiance.

That's right, Republicans in the House are getting ready for a debate on a bill called the Pledge Protection Act (H.R. 2389). It seems that Michael Newdow is a bigger threat to this country than Osama bin Laden. So big a threat that the House will consider a bill that would strip the federal courts of their ability to hear cases involving recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools.

The concept is called "court stripping" and it's the newest tactic being used by conservative Republicans to slam the federal courthouse door in the face of Americans seeking to protect their constitutional rights.

The Pledge Protection Act, scheduled for a mark-up in the House Judiciary Committee tomorrow (June 7), undercuts the separation of powers between the different branches of government and limits the legal options of religious minorities.

This isn't the first court stripping bill Congress has debated, and it probably won't be the last. Congressional leaders would rather kowtow to religious right leaders like James Dobson, Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell -- especially in an election year -- than protect the constitutional rights of us all.

For more information on this visit the Americans United for Separation of Church and State web site at www.au.org.