Cincinnati Enquirer - John Boehner Defends U.S. Capitol's 'God' Inscription

By Peter Urban, Cincinnati Enquirer Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON House Minority Leader John Boehner and other Republican lawmakers have joined a legal crusade to keep In God We Trust inscribed above the visitors entrance to the U.S. Capitol.

A group of 44 conservative lawmakers are challenging a federal lawsuit filed by a group of atheists and agnostics to have the national motto removed from the newly constructed Capitol Visitor Center.

Like an overwhelming majority of Americans, Congressman Boehner certainly appreciates the words of both the motto and the pledge, and believes they deserve a place in the public gateway to the U.S. Capitol, said Cory Fritz, a spokesman for Boehner.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a federal lawsuit in July to block the engravings at the visitor center. The group says the phrase and the Pledge of Allegiance violate the separation of church and state.

The American Center for Law and Justice filed a brief Monday in U.S. District Court arguing the lawsuit borders on the frivolous.

The fact is that Congress acted appropriately and consistent with the Constitution with the inclusion of the national motto and the Pledge of Allegiance in the Capitol Visitor Center, said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the ACLJ. These expressions echo the sentiments found in the Declaration of Independence and recognize the undeniable truth that our freedoms come from God.

The engravings have since been completed, but the legal battle will almost certainly stretch into next year.

Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, said she hopes to have the Supreme Court eventually decide whether the national motto violates the First Amendment.

The engraving at the Capitol Visitor Center is an affront to the 15 percent of Americans who do not believe in God, she said. Imagine if it said In Allah We Trust how many Americans would be offended, and rightly so.

The First Amendment states, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.

The Republican lawmakers argue that the intent was to prohibit a state-sponsored religion not to remove all references to God from government.

Gaylor says God was injected into the political landscape during the height of the Cold War. The national motto was adopted and the Pledge of Allegiance changed as part of a political battle against godless Communists, she said.

The case continues a long-standing battle over the exact intent behind the First Amendments so-called separation of church and state. A similar battle was waged in Ohio over its motto With God all things are possible.

In 2001, a 9-4 majority of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the motto was constitutional because it did not purport to compel belief in religion but those in dissent said there was no way to view it as anything other than an endorsement of the Christian religion since the motto comes straight out of the New Testament.

Earlier this year, Congress approved a resolution that essentially told the Architect of the Capitol to spend up to $150,000 for the engravings, which werent part of the visitor centers original design. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., sponsored the resolution to fix what he contended was a whitewash of the nations religious heritage.

The millions of visitors that will visit the CVC each year should get a true portrayal of the motivations and inspirations of those who have served in Congress since its establishment, DeMint said at the time.