Virginia sued over FPN’s “In God We Trust” posters

Myers filed his lawsuit after posters were distributed to schools statewide by the Virginia-based Family Policy Network, a nonprofit Christian advocacy group. The posters feature “In God We Trust” emblazoned in gold with the U.S. flag as a backdrop and, in a smaller subscript, “the National Motto, enacted by Congress in 1956.”

Appeals panel hears case on Va. pledge law
Virginia sued for accepting “In God We Trust” prints from Family Policy Network
By Paul Nowell, Associated Press

ASSOCIATED PRESS — With his three sons at his side, a father went to a federal appeals panel yesterday to challenge a Virginia law that calls on public schools to lead a daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and display the motto “In God We Trust.”

Edward Myers of Sterling, Va., contends the law violates his children’s free-speech rights and is an unconstitutional government promotion of religion. A lower federal court dismissed those arguments in 2003 and Myers’ attorney repeated many of them before a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a special hearing at the Wake Forest University Law School.

“My client is challenging the recitation of the pledge as a religious exercise. That’s the core of it,” attorney David Remes told the panel in seeking to have the lower court’s ruling overturned. “It’s an affirmation of religious beliefs.”

Virginia Deputy Attorney General Maureen Matsen countered that “there is not even a hint of religious purpose in the Virginia statute. . . . The pledge is inherently political speech, not religious activity.”

U.S. District Judge James C. Cacheris threw out Myers’ original lawsuit, writing that the 2001 Virginia law “is secular because it aims to foster democracy, which is both necessary to the survival of the concept and entirely independent of religion.”

U.S. Department of Justice attorney Robert Loeb told the panel that other courts also have found that the Pledge of Allegiance “is a patriotic exercise and not a religious one.”

About 100 Wake Forest law students and faculty members watched the arguments. Myers sat quietly behind his attorneys, accompanied by sons Jordan, 11; Jeremy, 8; and Jackson, 4. The youngest boy slept through the entire proceeding.

Myers contended that the use of the posters, sent soon after the law took effect, was an endorsement of the organization’s religious views.

Cacheris rejected the argument in his 2003 ruling, saying that just because a religious group designed the poster does not necessarily mean the poster is religious by nature.

At yesterday’s hearing, appeals Judge Allyson Duncan asked Remes to define the pledge in his client’s view.

“Is it a prayer?” she asked.

“No, it is not a prayer,” Remes said.

Judge Diana Motz interjected, asking Remes if saying “God bless you” to someone who sneezed could violate that person’s rights.

“People do not say ‘God bless you’ in a religious sense,” Remes said.

The three-judge panel did not indicate when it would issue its ruling.

RELATED NEWS:

Motto Posters Going Up in Schools
Richmond Times-Dispatch (7-15-02)
http://familypolicy.net/yr/2002/NS-RTD-motto-7-15-02.htm

Va. Schools Forge Ahead With National Motto
Washington Post (6-28-02)
http://familypolicy.net/yr/2002/NS-WP-motto-6-28-02.htm

Va. Schools to Hang ‘In God We Trust’ Posters
Family News in Focus (5-29-02)
http://familypolicy.net/yr/2002/NS-FNIF-motto-5-29-02.htm

Appeals panel hears case on Va. pledge law
Richmond Times-Dispatch (7-15-02)
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031781670686&path=!news&s=1045855934842

—————————————————————-
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this
material is distributed without profit or payment to those
expressing a prior interest in receiving this information
for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
—————————————————————-

Family Policy Network
P.O. Box 1199 – Forest, VA 24551

—————————————————————-
FPN is a national 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established
to inform Christians and confront the culture on the important
moral issues of the day. FPN does not endorse, support or oppose
political candidates, campaigns or parties. Individual and
corporate contributions are tax-deductible.
—————————————————————-
Contribute to FPN at: http://familypolicy.net/give/
—————————————————————-