CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2001–2002 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Joint Resolution
No. 55
Introduced by
Assembly Member
Pescetti
(Principal Coauthor(s):
Assembly Member
Cogdill, Cox)
(Coauthor(s):
Assembly Member
Rod Pacheco, Richman, Strickland)
|
June 27, 2002 |
Relative to the Pledge of Allegiance.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AJR 55, as introduced, Pescetti.
Pledge of Allegiance.
This measure would condemn the decision made by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on June 26, 2002, that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional because it includes the words “under God,” and memorialize the President and the Congress to take the necessary steps in an expeditious manner to ensure that the Pledge of Allegiance remains intact.
Digest Key
Fiscal Committee:
NO WHEREAS, The Pledge of Allegiance since 1954 has stated: “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation under God, indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for all”; and
WHEREAS, The 1954 act of Congress adding the words “under God” to the previous version of the Pledge of Allegiance and a California school district’s policy requiring daily recitation of the amended pledge in the classroom were challenged in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, as violative of the establishment clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, and that court entered a judgment of dismissal in that case; and
WHEREAS, The judgment of dismissal by the district court was appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals as Newdow v. U.S. Congress (No. 00-16423), and on June 26, 2002, the court of appeals vacated the judgment of dismissal, holding the 1954 act adding the words “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance and the school district’s policy violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, and remanded the case to the lower court for further proceedings consistent with its holding; and
WHEREAS, Through the Pledge of Allegiance, Americans promise their loyalty to the flag, to their own and the other 49 states, and to the government that unites all the states; and
WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court begins each session with, “God save the United States and this honorable court,” United States currency employs the phrase, “In God We Trust,” and myriad patriotic songs make reference to God; and
WHEREAS, President Bush found this decision to be “ridiculous,” and Senate Majority Leader Daschle considered it “just nuts”; and
WHEREAS, The free exercise of religion and freedom of speech are guaranteed for all Americans by the First Amendment; and
WHEREAS, Students are not forced to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, but are allowed to refrain from the recitation; and
WHEREAS, In his dissenting opinion, Judge Ferdinand F. Fernandez states, “In short, I cannot accept the eliding of the simple phrase ‛under God’ from our Pledge of Allegiance, when it is obvious that its tendency to establish religion in this country or to interfere with the free exercise (or non-exercise) of religion is de minimis”; and
WHEREAS, The court’s decision does not reflect the sentiments throughout the United States; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly and Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California hereby condemns the decision made by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on June 26, 2002, that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional because it includes the words “under God”; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature of the State of California hereby urges the President and Congress of the United States to take the necessary steps in an expeditious manner to ensure that the Pledge of Allegiance remains intact; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States.