PRESS RELEASE ** PRESS RELEASE ** PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
June 15, 2005
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Contact: Rob Boston or Jeremy Leaming
www.au.org
AMERICANS UNITED URGES HOUSE NOT TO RETREAT IN COMBATTING RELIGIOUS
BIAS AT AIR FORCE ACADEMY
Watchdog Group Says House Should Keep Rep. Obey's Defense Bill
Amendment Addressing Coercive Proselytizing At Academy
Americans United for Separation of Church and State today urged the
House of Representatives not to weaken a provision in a defense
appropriations bill that requires corrective action on religious bias
at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Last week, U.S. Rep. David Obey (D-Wisc.) inserted an amendment to the
spending bill criticizing "coercive and abusive religious
proselytizing" at the Academy and requiring the Air Force to submit a
plan to Congress to correct the problems.
Congressional Quarterly reported today that U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter
(R-Calif.), House Armed Services Committee chairman, plans to strip
the Obey amendment from the bill and replace it with a watered-down
version.
That would be a grave mistake, says Americans United.
"This is no time for Congress to sound retreat," said the Rev. Barry
W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. "The religious
freedom rights of all Academy cadets must be respected, and Congress
has an important role to play in protecting them.
"It's appalling to me that some House members are considering backing
off when the head of the Academy has already acknowledged there are
serious problems that should be fixed," said Lynn. "Congress needs to
exercise its oversight and ensure that the Air Force deals with this
problem. This should be a bipartisan effort that all members of
Congress support."
Lynn noted that recently Lt. Gen. John Rosa, the superintendent of the
Academy, told the Anti-Defamation League that he acknowledges the
extent of the problems and that concern about them is "something that
keeps me awake at night." In light of this admission, AU says, there
is no reason for Congress not to take a pro-active role.
Last month, Americans United forwarded a detailed 14-page report to
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld listing examples of officially
sanctioned favoritism toward evangelical Christianity at the Academy
in Colorado Springs. In response, Air Force officials formed a task
force to look into the matter.
Americans United says Congress has an obligation to make sure the Air
Force follows through on its promise to correct the problems at the
Academy.
Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in
Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans
about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding
religious freedom.
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TAKE ACTION!
Oppose Any Amendment On The House Floor To Weaken Congressional
Oversight Provision Contained In H.R. 2863 For Investigation Into
Religious Coercion And Intolerance At U.S. Air Force Academy.
Go to: http://www.au.org/site/R?i=NGFMTsBZUMsg6GK5_L1AGA..
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www.au.org
You are invited to check out the following:
The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
[and the discussion group for the above site listed below]
HRSepCnS · Hampton Roads SepChurch&State
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HRSepCnS/
[Its not just Hampton Roads folks who are members]
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.. . . You can't understand a phrase such as "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion" by syllogistic reasoning. Words
take their meaning from social as well as textual contexts, which is why "a
page of history is worth a volume of logic." New York Trust Co. v. Eisner,
256 U.S. 345, 349, 41 S.Ct. 506, 507, 65 L.Ed. 963 (1921) (Holmes, J.).
Sherman v. Community Consol. Dist. 21, 980 F.2d 437, 445 (7th Cir. 1992)
.. . .
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THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE:
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
"Dedicated to combatting 'history by sound bite'."
Now including a re-publication of Tom Peters
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE HOME PAGE
and
Audio links to Supreme Court oral arguments and
Speech by civil rights/constitutional lawyer and others.
This site is a member of the following web rings:
Freethought Ring--&--Freethought, Religion & Beliefs Ring
The First Amendment Ring--&--The Church-State Ring
American History WebRing--&--The History Ring
Let Freedom Ring--&--Religious Freedom Ring
Law Issues Ring--&--Legal Research Ring
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