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HJM017.....................................................by STATE AFFAIRS
SCHOOL PRAYER - Stating findings of the Legislature and urging the Congress
of the United States to pass a "School Prayer Amendment" to the
Constitution of the United States reinstating protection for voluntary
school prayer and other public religious speech.
02/11 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/12 Rpt prt - to St Aff
02/19 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/20 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
02/25 3rd rdg - ADOPTED - 60-7-3
AYES -- Aikele, Barraclough, Bedke, Bell, Black, Block, Bolz,
Bradford, Bruneel, Callister, Campbell, Clark, Collins, Crow, Cuddy,
Deal, Denney, Ellis, Ellsworth, Eskridge, Field(20), Gagner, Gould,
Hadley, Hammond, Harwood, Higgins, Hornbeck, Jones, Kellogg(Duncan),
Kendell, Kunz, Lake, Langford, Loertscher, Mader, McKague, Meyer,
Montgomery, Mortensen, Moyle, Pearce, Pischner, Pomeroy, Raybould,
Ridinger, Roberts, Sali, Schaefer, Sellman, Shepherd, Smith(23),
Smylie, Stevenson, Stone, Tilman, Trail, Wheeler, Wood, Young
NAYS -- Bieter, Boe, Henbest, Jaquet, Martinez, Robison, Smith(33)
Absent and excused -- Barrett, Field(13), Mr. Speaker
Floor Sponsor - Roberts
Title apvd - to Senate
02/26 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to St Aff
03/04 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 10th Ord
03/06 10th ord - ADOPTED - voice vote
Title apvd - to House
To enrol
03/07 Rpt enrol - Sp signed
03/08 Pres signed
03/11 To Secretary of State
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ||||
Fifty-sixth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2002
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 17
BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
1 A JOINT MEMORIAL
2 TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES IN CONGRESS
3 ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION REPRESENTING THE STATE OF
4 IDAHO IN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES.
5 We, your Memorialists, the House of Representatives and the Senate of the
6 State of Idaho assembled in the Second Regular Session of the Fifty-sixth
7 Idaho Legislature, do hereby respectfully represent that:
8 WHEREAS, our country was founded on the precepts of freedom, liberty,
9 diversity and the right of the people to acknowledge God according to the
10 dictates of conscience; and
11 WHEREAS, from the very beginning of our nation to the founding of our
12 first national government in 1774, and from the Continental Congress to the
13 Constitutional Convention and the years after the establishment of our Consti-
14 tution, voluntary prayer has been a unifying and consoling force; and
15 WHEREAS, statements of belief in a Supreme Power and the virtue of seeking
16 guidance, strength and protection from that Power are prevalent throughout our
17 national history and appear in our national documents as well as in virtually
18 every state constitution; and
19 WHEREAS, the framers of the Constitution, recognizing free exercise of
20 religion as an inalienable right, secured its protection with the First Amend-
21 ment of the Constitution of the United States; and
22 WHEREAS, every session of Congress, as well as those of many other legis-
23 lative and public bodies across the nation, begins with the comfort and
24 encouragement of voluntary prayer; and
25 WHEREAS, our government has a constitutional obligation to protect reli-
26 gious freedom; and
27 WHEREAS, one of the purposes of education is to prepare students to be
28 good citizens; and
29 WHEREAS, instilling an appreciation and respect not only for the beliefs
30 and traditions of others but also for the longstanding beliefs and traditions
31 of the nation, forms a part of good citizenship; and
32 WHEREAS, voluntary student prayer formed a part of American public schools
33 from their origination in 1642 for over three hundred years afterward, until
34 the U. S. Supreme Court, in a 1962 ruling, which the court said was "without
35 precedent," struck down what it described as "voluntary, nondenominational
36 school prayer"; and
37 WHEREAS, in 1985 the U. S. Supreme Court also struck down voluntary,
38 silent student prayers; and
39 WHEREAS, an increasing number of recent religion hostile court decisions
40 now prohibit the overwhelming majority of Americans from participating in the
41 very same religious expressions their parents, grandparents and generations
42 before them enjoyed; and
43 WHEREAS, an increasing and ever-widening hostility against voluntary
44 prayer and public religious speech has produced a public atmosphere of fear,
2
1 intimidation and confusion about school prayer and religious speech; and
2 WHEREAS, an overwhelming majority of Americans now favor giving specific
3 protections to these traditional religious expressions, as for example, recent
4 polls show that 78% favor a constitutional amendment restoring voluntary
5 school prayer and 74% favor protecting displays of the Ten Commandments.
6 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the Second Regular Ses-
7 sion of the Fifty-sixth Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives and
8 the Senate concurring therein, that we urge the U. S. Congress to pass a
9 "School Prayer Amendment" to the Constitution of the United States reinstating
10 protection for voluntary school prayer and other public religious speech.
11 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the House of Representa-
12 tives be, and she is hereby authorized and directed to forward a copy of this
13 Memorial to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Repre-
14 sentatives of Congress, and the congressional delegation representing the
15 State of Idaho in the Congress of the United States.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 11988
This Joint Memorial asks the U.S. Congress to support the School
Prayer Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. This
amendment calls for reinstating protection for voluntary school
prayer and other public religious speech.
FISCAL IMPACT
None
Contact
Name: Rep. Roberts, Mader, Sali, McKague, Denney, Ellis
Phone: 332-1000
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE HJM 17