00                      SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 10                                                                    
01 Relating to the Pledge of Allegiance.                                                                                   
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
03       WHEREAS this country was founded on religious freedom by founders, many of                                      
04 whom were deeply religious; and                                                                                         
05       WHEREAS the First Amendment to the United States Constitution embodies                                          
06 principles intended to guarantee freedom of religion both through the free exercise of religion                         
07 and by prohibiting the government's establishing a religion; and                                                        
08       WHEREAS the Pledge of Allegiance was written by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist                                      
09 minister, and was first published in the September 8, 1892, issue of Youth's Companion; and                             
10       WHEREAS, in 1954, the United States Congress added the words "under God" to the                                 
11 Pledge of Allegiance; and                                                                                               
12       WHEREAS President Eisenhower, in adding these words, said "These words will                                     
13 remind Americans that despite our great physical strength we must remain humble.  They will                             
14 help us to keep constantly in our minds and hearts the spiritual and moral principles which                             
15 alone give dignity to man, and upon which our way of life is founded."; and                                             
16       WHEREAS, for nearly 50 years, the Pledge of Allegiance has included references to                               

01 the United States flag and the country; this country has been established as a union "under                             
02 God," being dedicated to securing "liberty and justice for all"; and                                                    
03       WHEREAS, in 1954, the United States Congress believed it was acting                                             
04 constitutionally when it revised the Pledge of Allegiance; and                                                          
05       WHEREAS patriotic songs, engravings on United States legal tender, engravings on                                
06 federal buildings, and the Preamble to the Constitution of the State of Alaska also contain                             
07 general references to "God"; and                                                                                        
08       WHEREAS, in accordance with decisions of the United States Supreme Court, public                                
09 school students cannot be forced to recite the Pledge of Allegiance without violating their                             
10 First Amendment rights; and                                                                                             
11       WHEREAS a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth                                 
12 Circuit has ruled in Newdow v.  U.S. Congress that the words "under God" in the Pledge of                               
13 Allegiance violate the Establishment Clause when recited by students in public schools; and                             
14       WHEREAS the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has voted not to have the full court,                                
15 en banc, reconsider the decision of the panel; and                                                                      
16       WHEREAS the Senate of the 108th United States Congress strongly disapproves of a                                
17 decision by a panel of the Ninth Circuit in Newdow v.  U.S. Congress, and the decision of the                           
18 full court not to reconsider this case en banc; and resolves to authorize and instruct the Senate                       
19 Legal Counsel either to seek to intervene in the case to defend the constitutionality of the                            
20 words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, or to file an amicus curiae brief in support of                          
21 the continuing constitutionality of the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance;                                  
22       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature concurs with and supports                                      
23 review by the United States Supreme Court of the decision, Newdow v.  U.S. Congress.                                    
24       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable George W. Bush, President                              
25 of the United States; the Honorable Richard B. Cheney, Vice-President of the United States                              
26 and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Ted Stevens, President Pro Tempore of the                               
27 U.S. Senate and member of the Alaska delegation in Congress; the Honorable J. Dennis                                    
28 Hastert, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; and to the Honorable Lisa Murkowski,                             
29 U.S. Senator, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska                                   
30 delegation in Congress.