Council 8334
1800 SW State Route 150
Lees Summit, MO 64082
(816) 537-6990 Map
Lees Summit, MO 64082
(816) 537-6990 Map
Holy Spirit Church
Supreme Court rejects challenge to "under
God" in Pledge of Allegiance
Knights of Columbus waged successful defense on East
and West Coast cases
June 14, 2011 - Flag Day
(NEW HAVEN, CONN.) - The United States Supreme Court has
refused to hear an appeal of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality
of the Pledge of Allegiance, thus ending a seven year battle
involving two separate cases, one originating in California and the
other in New Hampshire. The Knights of Columbus, represented
by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, played a key role in defending the Pledge
as a "defendant intervener" in both cases.
"The Knights of Columbus is proud to have played a major role in
successfully defending the constitutionality of the words 'under
God' in the Pledge of Allegiance," Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson
said. "We were instrumental in persuading Congress to add
those words to the Pledge in 1954, and they express a fundamental
belief that we have held as a nation since our founding, that we
'are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights.' The
notion that this somehow violates the First Amendment has now
been soundly rejected by both the First and Ninth Circuit Courts of
Appeal, and the Supreme Court has now allowed both decisions
to stand. It is a victory for common sense."
The Ninth Circuit upheld the constitutionality of the Pledge in
March 2010 and the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of
the California case in March 2011. The First Circuit upheld the
constitutionality of the Pledge in November 2011 and the Supreme
Court denied certiorari in that case yesterday, June 13,
2011.
Received from Knights of Columbus Communications Department
w/permission to reprint.
God" in Pledge of Allegiance
Knights of Columbus waged successful defense on East
and West Coast cases
June 14, 2011 - Flag Day
(NEW HAVEN, CONN.) - The United States Supreme Court has
refused to hear an appeal of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality
of the Pledge of Allegiance, thus ending a seven year battle
involving two separate cases, one originating in California and the
other in New Hampshire. The Knights of Columbus, represented
by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, played a key role in defending the Pledge
as a "defendant intervener" in both cases.
"The Knights of Columbus is proud to have played a major role in
successfully defending the constitutionality of the words 'under
God' in the Pledge of Allegiance," Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson
said. "We were instrumental in persuading Congress to add
those words to the Pledge in 1954, and they express a fundamental
belief that we have held as a nation since our founding, that we
'are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights.' The
notion that this somehow violates the First Amendment has now
been soundly rejected by both the First and Ninth Circuit Courts of
Appeal, and the Supreme Court has now allowed both decisions
to stand. It is a victory for common sense."
The Ninth Circuit upheld the constitutionality of the Pledge in
March 2010 and the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of
the California case in March 2011. The First Circuit upheld the
constitutionality of the Pledge in November 2011 and the Supreme
Court denied certiorari in that case yesterday, June 13,
2011.
Received from Knights of Columbus Communications Department
w/permission to reprint.