Atheists Sue Over the Inauguration
How will the messiah known as Obama deal with these nuts?
His buddies over at the Daily Kos agree with this court action. So far a majority of them feel
"Yes, it's about time someone pointed out the problem with allowing religion to play such a role in a government sponsored event"
Atheists Sue Over the Inauguration (with poll)
by WayBeyondSoccerMom
Mon Dec 29, 2008 at 02:39:37 PM PST
I was wondering when this was going to happen. With all the hoopla of Rick Warren delivering the invocation at the Obama inauguration, I figured the general idea of religion having a centerstage at the event would cause someone to sue.
Hemant Mehta, the Friendly Atheist, has a great blog about what's going on.
From Hemant's site:
Atheist Michael Newdow (of "Under God" fame) and several other atheists are suing government officials over the injection of religion into the presidential Inauguration.
The lawsuit is being filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
WayBeyondSoccerMom's diary :: ::
Here's more from Hemant's blog:
Who is suing? Anyone and everyone, it seems.
Specifically:
MICHAEL NEWDOW; MEL LIPMAN; DAN BARKER AND ANNIE-LAURIE GAYLOR; MARIE CASTLE; HERB SILVERMAN; KIRK HORNBECK; CATHARINE LAMM; RICHARD WINGROVE; CHRISTOPHER ARNTZEN; JOHN STOLTENBERG; KATHERINE LACLAIR; LOUIS ALTMAN; "UNNAMED CHILDREN;" THE AMERICAN HUMANIST ASSOCIATION ("AHA"); THE FREEDOM FROM RELIGION FOUNDATION ("FFRF"); MINNESOTA ATHEISTS; ATHEISTS FOR HUMAN RIGHT[S] ("AFHR"); ATHEIST ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL ("AAI"); NEW ORLEANS SECULAR HUMANIST ASSOCIATION ("NOSHA");
Why "unnamed children"? Because, according to Newdow, the public prayers amount to the "coercive imposition of religious dogma specifically denounced by the Supreme Court" in so many other similar court cases.
Who is being sued?
HON. JOHN ROBERTS, JR., CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE U.S. SUPREME COURT; PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURAL COMMITTEE ("PIC"); EMMETT BELIVEAU, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PIC; JOINT CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE ON INAUGURAL CEREMONIES ("JCCIC"); SENATOR DIANNE FEINSTEIN, CHAIRPERSON, JCCIC; ARMED FORCES INAUGURAL COMMITTEE ("AFIC"); MAJOR GENERAL RICHARD J. ROWE JR., CHAIRPERSON, AFIC; REV. RICK WARREN; REV. JOE LOWERY;
What do the plaintiffs want?
They want to stop "so help me God" from being said during this inauguration and all future ones. Same with the prayers — both the invocation and benediction.
They don’t want extra money, but they do want to "recover costs, expert witness fees, attorney fees," etc.
<snip>
A couple key reasons:
The addition of "so help me God" to the presidential oath of office (said by Chief Justice John Roberts) violates the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment.
The government-sponsored use of any clergy at all during the inauguration violates the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment
To be clear, this is not an attack on Rick Warren for his bigoted views. That’s a separate issue.
It’s a lawsuit against using religion at all in a presidential inauguration.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/1.../661/89/678260
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Originally Posted by PostmodernProphet
