00                        SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 301                                                                       
01 Relating to the Pledge of Allegiance.                                                                                   
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE:                                                                                           
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                             

01 alone give dignity to man, and upon which our way of life is founded."; and                                             
02       WHEREAS, for nearly 50 years, the Pledge of Allegiance has included references to                               
03 the United States flag and the country; this country, has been established as a union, "under                           
04 God" being dedicated to securing "liberty and justice for all"; and                                                     
05       WHEREAS, in 1954, the United States Congress believed it was acting                                             
06 constitutionally when it revised the Pledge of Allegiance; and                                                          
07       WHEREAS the Senate of the 107th United States Congress believes that the Pledge                                 
08 of Allegiance is not an unconstitutional expression of patriotism; and                                                  
09       WHEREAS patriotic songs, engravings on United States legal tender, engravings on                                
10 federal buildings, and the Preamble to the Constitution of the State of Alaska also contain                             
11 general references to "God"; and                                                                                        
12       WHEREAS, in accordance with decisions of the United States Supreme Court, public                                
13 school students cannot be forced to recite the Pledge of Allegiance without violating their                             
14 First Amendment rights; and                                                                                             
15       WHEREAS the Congress expects that the United States Court of Appeals for the                                    
16 Ninth Circuit will rehear the case of Newdow v. U.S. Congress, en banc, and resolves to                                 
17 instruct the Senate Legal Counsel to seek to intervene in the case to defend the                                        
18 constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance;                                                                          
19       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Senate concurs with and supports the                                       
20 United States Senate in challenging the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit                            
21 in its decision of Newdow v. U.S. Congress, en banc.                                                                    
22       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable George W. Bush, President                              
23 of the United States; the Honorable Richard B. Cheney, Vice-President of the United States                              
24 and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Robert C. Byrd, President Pro Tempore of the                            
25 U.S. Senate; the Honorable J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives;                             
26 and to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and                                  
27 the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in                                       
28 Congress.