Rob Erikson pointed me towards an utterly shocking article by Erwin Chemerinsky, Professor of Law and Political Science, at Duke University.
One week ago, the Republican controlled House quietly passed H.R. 2679: Public Expression of Religion Act of 2005. This little beauty prevents attorneys, who successfully challenge government actions as violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, from recovering attorney’s fees. But gasmonso, what on God’s green earth does this mean?
Chemerinsky says it best,
The bill has only one purpose: to prevent suits challenging unconstitutional government actions advancing religion.
Ok, here’s how it goes. About 30 years ago, Congress, in a brief moment of clarity, passed federal statute, 42 United States Code section 1988. This statute simply dictates that a plaintiff can recoup attorney’s fees if he/she successfully proves that their constitutional or civil rights were violated. The purpose of this is quite simple and two-fold. It offers people who can’t afford an attorney the opportunity to hire one and take the offender to court. Secondly, it keeps frivolous lawsuits down because attorneys will be less likely to take the case if it’s apparent that it’s without merit. So it serves a noble purpose.
So why is this bill evil? Well it is specific to matters of a religion. Whether you have a valid case or not, this bill prevents an individual from recovering attorney’s fees. Say for example you have religion being imposed on your child in a public school. Under the current law, the average person could take the school district to court because they would likely win the battle and recoup the attorney’s fees. Now think about it. Those fees can and most likely will be very expensive because you’re up against the school system who feeds off the public tax trough. The only way me or you could possibly bring this suit against the school is by having federal statute 42 on our side. Get it now?
If you didn’t check the previous link, here is the party breakdown for passage of this bill:
| Democrat | Republican | Independent | |
| Aye | 26 | 217 | 0 |
| Nay | 166 | 6 | 1 |
| Absent | 9 | 6 | 0 |
How do you feel about this story? How do you feel about it receiving absolutely no attention in the media? I want to hear from both religious and non-religious folks as well as US and non-US readers. Thanks!
Related posts:
“Official Title: To amend the Revised Statutes of the United States to prevent the use of the legal system in a manner that extorts money from State and local governments, and the Federal Government, and inhibits such governments’ constitutional actions under the first, tenth, and fourteenth amendments.”
Allow my arguments against this, if you will.
“Extorts money from the…Federal Government”. Really?
extort v. “to wrest or wring (money, information, etc.) from a person by violence, intimidation, or abuse of authority; obtain by force, torture, threat, or the like.
b. to take illegally by reason of one’s office. ”
(dictionary.com)
This money was being used by the government, for purposes of aiding cases used to uphold the Constitution, which is a document considered by most Americans to be the foundation of our very government. To use money for that purpose, I don’t think is extortion.
Also, why not take money from attourneys in every other instance? Only religion?
Inhibits the government? That’s the point. The government should be inhibited. If it was to be otherwise, then there would be no checks and balances, and there would be no need in the first place to challenge the government’s decisions, because it is it’s job to ‘manage’ us. We, as Americans, ‘own’ the government (at least in theory), and they can’t stop us from doing whatever we want with it.
Furthermore, inhibiting the government’s actions “under the first, tenth, and fourteenth amendments.” The amendments weren’t made for the government. The government’s only rights are supposed to be the ones we give it. “By the people, for the people.” Not anyone else, including the government.
Whew. And that was just from the bill title. I’ll save my attack on the document for some other time.
I am so enraged by this…
how do we stop these people now?
Well, you can always try calling your Senators. They’re supposedly more reasonable than the Reps. Of course the House might have passed this simply as an election tool and it’ll not even make it out of Senate committee. Now the Republicans can go back to their districts and say, “I voted to preserve your right to worship!”
Yep, equally enraged. It’s no wonder China punishes xtians.
Looks like I have some letters to right in my district. Why must I suffer for their religion? They sure don’t suffer for mine. Its like the fact that I can’t buy beer or wine on Sunday here in Georgia. There is no reason for it other than religion (except that its also a law, and one I appose at that).
USA is going down the drain. It’ll take decades, if not generations, for USA to recover from the damage done during Dubya’s presidency by the neo-con regime. This is just one part of that all.
It’s nice to think that it’s all W’s fault, but more than 50% of the people voted for him, so it’s not too unlikely someone like him will be voted in again soon…
Dave
Just to clarify: Of course it’s not all Dubya’s fault. He is just the figurehead of this policy of irrationality. The problems are much more wide ranging, but they do tend to focus at the president.
Skyclad, actually i am hoping that it turns out to be true that the electric voting machines were hacked with some self destroying virus(theoretically it’s possible, all you need is 10-20 lines of assembly)
Too bad i’m not in the US or i would enjoy bashing my senator(yes, i’m sadistic) you guys should try it!
Who is for this constitution? i think only christians since it is the most common(and kinda official) religion, so that leaves over 30% of the american people not agreeing. time to write some letters and make a few phone calls guys…
Actually, I am for this constitution and I am an Atheist. The problem is, the constitution is only as good as the people interpreting it, or modifying it. Right now that set is a bunch of republicans bent on turning the constitution into a tool to support their cult and not one that is meant to protect everyone equally. Case in point, that ridiculous attempt to amend the constitution to make it illegal to marry gays. Only a right wing psycho. I stand by my views: Religion is the root of all evil, christianity and islam are the two biggest roots. Frankly, I am not sure which of the two biggest threat to freedom.
> time to write some letters and make a few phone calls guys…
I’m all for burning down churches and trampling all over people in a stampede personally…
Dave
Now now, Dave. Don’t sink to their level.
Whatever… This would be struck down for unconstitutionality so quick the cries of “activist judges” would be heard backwards. It’s the House for crying out loud, do you really expect better?
“Say for example you have religion being imposed on your child in a public school. Under the current law, the average person could take the school district to court because they would likely win the battle and recoup the attorney’s fees.”
Depends on how that religion is being “imposed”. The way I read it this is written to allow the government to continue supporting scouts, continue the tradition of using reliigous iconography on money, veterans memorials where apporpos, federal buildings, and the like.
Now having said that I say if they want to keep the trappings of Judeo-Christianity around then they should be willing to let atheists fight to have them tken down and pay for it if it turns out that the atheists are right. Mostly I think we should just take the trappings off. Especially in light of the last thirty-odd years of insanely dirty politics. It’s like a hooker wearing a white wedding dress or the white washed tombs full of dead men’s bones that Jesus talks about.
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