HB 1619

1	House Memorial
2	A memorial to the Congress of the United States, urging
3	Congress to propose an amendment to the Constitution of
4	the United States, for submission to the several states,
5	to allow the people of the United States and the several
6	states the freedom to exercise their religion in public
7	places.
8
9	WHEREAS, the Ten Commandments appear over the bench where
10	the United States Supreme Court Justices sit, thus showing the
11	source from whence our laws and the government power of the
12	state are derived, and
13	WHEREAS, the colonial governments that preceded the Federal
14	Government adopted the Ten Commandments not as an object of
15	worship or an icon, but as the basis for their civil and
16	criminal law, as illustrated on April 3, 1644, when the New
17	Haven Colony Charter was adopted establishing that "the judicial
18	laws of God, as they were delivered to Moses be a rule to all
19	courts in this jurisdiction," and
20	WHEREAS, when signing the Declaration of Independence on
21	August 2, 1776, Samuel Adams, the "Father of the Revolution,"
22	emphasized its Biblical presuppositions: "We have this day
23	restored the sovereign to whom all men ought to be obedient. He
24	reigns in heaven and from the rising to the setting of the sun,
25	let His kingdom come," and
26	WHEREAS, on August 20, 1789, Congressman Fisher Ames from
27	Massachusetts proposed the wording of the First Amendment, which
28	was adopted by the House of Representatives in the first session
29	of the Congress of the United States, and his writings clearly
30	demonstrate that the framers of the United States Constitution
31	never intended the First Amendment to be so interpreted as to
32	remove the Bible from public buildings: "We are spending less
33	time in the classroom on the Bible which should be the principal
34	text in our schools....," and
35	WHEREAS, in a letter dated August 18, 1790, President
36	George Washington wrote to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport,
37	Rhode Island, "All possess alike liberty of conscience and
38	immunities of citizenship.... May the children of the stock of
39	Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the
40	good will of the other inhabitants; while every one shall sit in
41	safety under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none
42	to make him afraid," and
43	WHEREAS, in his "Farewell Address" of September 19, 1796,
44	George Washington pointed out the connection between the faith
45	of the nation and its political prosperity when he declared, "Of
46	all the dispositions and habits which lead to political
47	prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports,"
48	and
49	WHEREAS, acknowledging the Bible as an integral part of the
50	fabric of our society on September 11, 1777, the Continental
51	Congress adopted a resolution to import 20,000 Bibles from
52	Holland and Scotland, as the colonies were at war with England,
53	and
54	WHEREAS, on May 29, 1845, the day before his death,
55	President Andrew Jackson stated, "My lamp of life is nearly out,
56	and the last glimmer has come. I am ready to depart when called.
57	The Bible is true. The principles and statutes of the Holy Book
58	have been the rule of my life, and I have tried to conform to
59	its spirit as nearly as possible. Upon that sacred volume I rest
60	my hope for eternal salvation, through the merits and blood of
61	our blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ," and
62	WHEREAS, President John Quincy Adams, the sixth President
63	of the United States, wrote concerning the civil function of the
64	Mosaic law, "The law given from Sinai was a civil and municipal
65	as well as a moral and religious code: it contained many
66	statutes...of universal application...laws essential to the
67	existence of men in society and most of which have been enacted
68	by every nation which ever professed any code of laws," and
69	WHEREAS, in a June 1778 letter to her son, John Quincy
70	Adams, Abigail Adams reinforced noble values and a sense of
71	ultimate accountability to God which she believed to be the
72	foundation of true greatness: "Great learning and superior
73	abilities, should you ever possess them, will be of little value
74	and small estimation, unless virtue, honor, truth, and integrity
75	are added to them. Adhere to those religious sentiments and
76	principles which were early instilled into your mind, and
77	remember that you are accountable to your Maker for all your
78	words and actions," and
79	WHEREAS, on February 29, 1892, the United States Supreme
80	Court, in a unanimous decision that has never been overruled,
81	cited 66 organic authorities that show the Bible's singular
82	influence on America: "There is no dissonance in these
83	declarations. There is a universal language pervading them all
84	having one meaning: they affirm and reaffirm that this is a
85	religious nation. These are not individual sayings, declarations
86	of private persons; they are organic utterances; they speak the
87	voice of the entire group. These authorities were collected to
88	support the historical conclusion that no purpose of action
89	against religion can be imputed any legislation, state or
90	nation, because this is a religious people. This is historically
91	true. From the discovery of this continent to the present hour,
92	there is a single voice making this affirmation...we find
93	everywhere a clear recognition of the same truth...this is a
94	Christian nation," and
95	WHEREAS, on May 7, 1911, President Woodrow Wilson,
96	addressing the Tercentenary Celebration of the Translation of
97	the Bible into the English language, stated, "Moreover, the
98	Bible does what is so invaluable in human life it classifies
99	moral values. It apprises us that men are not judged according
100	to their wits, but according to their characters that the last
101	of every man's reputation is his truthfulness, his squaring his
102	conduct with the standards that he knew to be the standards of
103	purity and rectitude. How many a man we appraise, ladies and
104	gentlemen, as great today whom we do not admire as noble! A man
105	may have great power and small character," and
106	WHEREAS, in his February 22, 1990, proclamation designating
107	1990 as The International Year of Bible Reading, President
108	George H. W. Bush declared, "The Bible has had a critical impact
109	upon the development of Western civilization. Western
110	literature, art, and music are filled with images and ideas that
111	can be traced to its pages. More important, our moral tradition
112	has been shaped by the laws and teachings it contains. It was a
113	biblical view of man -- one affirming the dignity and worth of
114	the human person, made in the image of our Creator -- that
115	inspired the principles upon which the United States is founded.
116	President Jackson called the Bible 'the rock on which our
117	Republic rests' because he knew that it shaped the Founding
118	Fathers' concept of individual liberty and their vision of a
119	free and just society. The Bible has not only influenced the
120	development of our Nation's values and institutions but also
121	enriched the daily lives of millions of men and women who have
122	looked to it for comfort, hope, and guidance. On the American
123	frontier, the Bible was often the only book a family owned. For
124	those pioneers living far from any church or school, it served
125	both as a source of religious instruction and as the primary
126	text from which children learned to read. The historic speeches
127	of Abraham Lincoln and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., provide
128	compelling evidence of the role Scripture played in shaping the
129	struggle against slavery and discrimination. Today the Bible
130	continues to give courage and direction to those who seek truth
131	and righteousness. In recognizing its enduring value, we recall
132	the words of the prophet Isaiah, who declared 'The grass
133	withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall
134	stand forever.' Containing revelations of God's intervention in
135	human history, the Bible offers moving testimony to His love for
136	mankind. Treasuring the Bible as a source of knowledge and
137	inspiration, President Abraham Lincoln called this Great Book
138	'the best gift God has given to man.' President Lincoln believed
139	that the Bible not only reveals the infinite goodness of our
140	Creator, but also reminds us of our worth as individuals and our
141	responsibilities toward one another," and
142	WHEREAS, the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights states,
143	"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
144	religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging
145	the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the
146	people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for
147	a redress of grievances," and
148	WHEREAS, recent court rulings have prevented the displaying
149	of the Ten Commandments and have been the cause of the removal
150	of these documents from public buildings, and
151	WHEREAS, 80 percent of the people are in favor of
152	displaying the Ten Commandments in public places, and
153	WHEREAS, the Legislature finds the Ten Commandments to be
154	the precedent legal code of the State of Florida which has
155	provided the foundation for many of the civil and criminal
156	statutes enacted into law throughout the history of the state,
157	and
158	WHEREAS, under Article V of the Constitution of the United
159	States, amendments to such constitution may be proposed by the
160	United States Congress whenever two-thirds of both chambers deem
161	it necessary, NOW, THEREFORE,
162
163	Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
164
165	That the Legislature of the State of Florida hereby
166	respectively petitions the United States Congress to propose an
167	amendment to the Constitution of the United States, for
168	submission to the several states for ratification, to allow the
169	people of the United States and the several states the freedom
170	to exercise their religion in public places.
171	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the text of the proposed
172	amendment to the Constitution of the United States should read
173	substantially as follows:
174	ARTICLE XXVIII
175	Nothing in the Constitution shall be construed to prohibit
176	or otherwise limit the practice of individual or group prayer,
177	the reading or the posting of the Ten Commandments, the recital
178	of the Pledge of Allegiance, and the display of the motto "In
179	God We Trust" or similar phrases from historical documents
180	referencing God in any public place, including a school; nor
181	shall it require any person to join in prayer or other religious
182	activity.
183	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be
184	spread upon the journals of the House of Representatives and
185	Senate of the State of Florida and that copies of this memorial
186	be forwarded to the President of the United States, to the
187	President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
188	United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
189	the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.