Massachusetts School Children, Parents Defend ‘Under God’
Round Four in the Becket Fund’s campaign to defend ‘under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Today, Massachusetts schoolchildren who want to continue reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in their public school classrooms intervened in Middlesex state court to defend the Pledge. They seek to defeat a lawsuit brought by a hypersecularist group that wants a court order removing the words “under God” from the Pledge. The schoolchildren, their parents, and the Knights of Columbus are represented by The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a non-profit law firm that has defended the Pledge for almost a decade. After losing three times in federal courts, hypersecularists are now challenging the Pledge at the state level.
This case, brought by the American Humanist Association, alleges that the Pledge violates the Massachusetts constitution and demands that the court declare it unconstitutional and allow its recitation at patriotic ceremonies only if it does not refer to God.
“Members of the American Humanist Society have every right not to say the Pledge if they don’t want to, but they don’t have the right to silence everyone else,” said Diana Verm, Legal Counsel at the Becket Fund.
This is the fourth of a series of major lawsuits that have attempted to have the words “Under God” removed from the Pledge. The Becket Fund successfully defeated all three and is ready to take on the next challenge.
“The education of students everywhere will be significantly altered if ‘under God’ is removed. Removing the words ‘under God’ would deny the source of our rights and show hostility toward religion. The Pledge is appropriate in public schools because it is a statement of political philosophy, not theology,” added Verm.
The Becket Fund is working on the case with J. Patrick Kennedy, of Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas, LLP in Boston.
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Read more about this on our frequently updated Case Page.
More Information:
MA Pledge Case: Motion to Intervene
10-28-2010 ‘Energizer Battery’s Evil Cousin’ Still Challenging Pledge (One News Now: Bob Kellogg)
