Without intended irony on April Fools' Day, Republican Rowan County Reps. Harry Warren and Carl Ford introduced House Joint Resolution 494 to establish a state religion in North Carolina.
Unbelievably,
the bill has already attracted 12 other equally ignorant sponsors. It’s
no joking matter that 14 people who have absolutely no understanding of
our Constitution have been elected state legislators.
Someone needs to tell these
legislative Rip Van Winkles that under the 14th amendment adopted in
1868, state citizens have the same protections under the federal Bill of
Rights as federal citizens:
“No
state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges
or immunities of citizens of the United States, nor shall any state
deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of
law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection
of the laws.”
The
Establishment
Clause of the First Amendment, reading “Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof . . .” also means “State legislators shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion.” Thomas Jefferson’s “wall of
separation between church and state” extends to state as well as federal
citizens.
These
legislators refuse to acknowledge any federal judicial ruling over a
constitutional topic, such as government prayer. Their rancor over the
First Amendment stems from conflicts over government prayer. They’re
especially mad at the ACLU right now, which is suing over sectarian
Christian prayer by the Rowan County Board, N.C. They’re also mad at
complaints over statehouse prayer. The Freedom From Religion Foundation
has formally complained over overtly Christian prayer in the state
Senate, for example, where a state Senate chaplain routinely offers
overtly Christian prayers.
Read the Freedom from Religion Foundation's letter to the Senate.
Read FFRF’s letter to the House.
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