State Representatives and Senators File Amici Briefs
May 13, 2010 2 Comments
Amicus Brief of state representatives and senators are linked below. I have only skimmed them. They basically both claim that the laws do not establish a state religion and therefore do not violate the first amendment. They also claim the plaintiffs do not have standing since we were not really harmed or coerced (ignoring that government officials are coerced). They also want the phrase “fanatics, traitors, or fools” stricken from the records.
Kentucky State Representatives’ Motion to File Amicus Brief
Brief of Amicus Curiae Ninety-Six Kentucky State Representatives
Kentucky State Senators’ Motion to File Amicus Brief
Brief of Amicus Curiae Thirty-Five Kentucky State Senators
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As a member of the group that filed the initial lawsuit along with Mr. Hensley (I am not a member of American Atheists since I am a agnostic non-theist…but as Isaac Asimov said, I might as well be an atheist since the difference is so slight), let me weigh in on the briefs filed by my elected representatives. I have been a resident of Kentucly for 20 years and I am currently seeking employment. If I applied to be the Head of KY Homeland Security and was awarded the job, does this mean I would have to swear falsely an allegiance to God in order to take the post? To me, there is no question that the government is forcing religious belief down my throat and is involved (however slight) in establishing religion, which is clearly against the 1st (not the 3rd or 10th or 15th) amendment. Just as no law should ask that all state employees abandon their religious beliefs, the state cannot insist that I abandon my belief that God is a man-made creation. And insisting that God be summoned to fight terrorism is exactly the kind of thinking that terrorists engage in to justify the killing of innocent people that they see as evil infidels. Separation of church and state is good for both.