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Strip Federal Court Authority |
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Compiled by GayToday
"I've got a commandment for Bob Aderholt: Thou shalt not play politics with religion," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. "The Ten Commandments have done pretty well for themselves for centuries; they don't need help from members of Congress. Perhaps if politicians started following the Commandments, and stopped using them for crass political purposes, we'd be better off. "Aderholt's bill is reckless and radical in its approach to the law," added Lynn. "It flies in the face of legal precedent and constitutional principles. The only thing the 'Ten Commandments Defense Act' actually defends is the Religious Right's goal of forcing its views on the rest of us." Introduction of Aderholt's bill will follow closely on the heels of Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore's unveiling of a 5,000-pound Ten Commandments monument earlier this month at the state judicial building in Montgomery.
"It's our argument that the Ten Commandments do not establish any religion," said Aderholt, who regularly receives 100 percent ratings from the Christian Coalition on its legislative scorecards. Aderholt went on to advance the rather unusual legal theory that the Supreme Court should not always be the final arbiter of the Constitution. He asserted, "[W]e would make the argument, the Supreme Court does not always have the final authority over the interpretation of the Constitution." This will be Aderholt's second attempt to pass this proposal. He introduced it in 1998, but it failed to become law. Previous "court stripping" efforts have not fared well in Congress. Throughout the 1980s, Senator Jesse Helms (Republican-N.C.) tried repeatedly to remove the ability of the federal courts to hear school prayer cases. None were enacted into law. It is also unclear if the Supreme Court would allow Congress to ignore the separation of powers between branches of government and limit federal court authority in this way. Nationally, government-endorsed Ten Commandments displays continue to spark political controversy. In July, the North Carolina legislature became the latest state to pass a law allowing officially sponsored display of the Commandments in public schools. (The measure was introduced and championed by State Representative Don Davis, who ignited conflict this week by distributing an e-mail to fellow lawmakers claiming, "Two things made this country great: White men & Christianity.") Concluded AU's Lynn, "The Aderholt scheme is indefensible. It should be quickly rejected by anyone who takes the Constitution seriously." |
Rep. Robert B. Aderholt, right, wants the posting of the Ten Commandments in public buildings 