Press Release from the Interfaith Alliance
Washington, June 20, 2005--Following the passage of an amendment in the U.S. House of Representatives prohibiting law enforcement from carrying out its duties to remove a Ten Commandments display in Indiana. Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, President of The Interfaith Alliance, warned that this extreme act of “congressional activism” should be recognized as such by the Senate through a resounding defeat.
“For over two hundred years—since the landmark Marbury v. Madison decision in 1803—civics students in our nation’s schools and jurists alike, the American people have recognized the courts as the final arbiter of the Constitution,” said Rev. Gaddy. “Rep. Hostettler’s ‘congressional activism’ is nothing short of radical because this amendment seeks to override the power of our courts within our constitutional system of checks-and-balances. I hope and expect that cooler heads will prevail in the Senate and affirm the separation of powers that have been a bulwark of our democracy for over 200 years. Who named Rep Hostettler as the national theologian on the Supreme Court?”
Last week, as the House debated an appropriations bill for the Departments of State, Justice and Commerce (H.R.2862), Rep. Hostettler (R-IN) introduced an amendment to prohibit any funds from being used to enforce Russelburg v. Gibson County. A federal court in that case ruled that a courthouse in Rep. Hostettler’s district containing a Ten Commandments display violated the First Amendment and had to be removed. During the debate, Rep. Hostettler stated that the ruling was unconstitutional, and inconsistent with “the Christian heritage of the United States.”
Following the court ruling, Rep. Hostettler wrote President George W. Bush, asking for support to deny law enforcement from carrying out the order. The matter was referred to the U.S. Department of Justice, which informed Hostettler that law enforcement officials are obligated to enforce court orders under federal law. President Bush has said that he will uphold the court’s ruling that Rep. Hostettler seeks to defy.
“Congressman Hostettler is attempting to re-write the separation of powers that has held this nation in balance for over 250 years,” said Rev. Gaddy. We are pleased President Bush remains committed to a nation of laws and that attempts by Congress to defy the law regarding the public display of religious documents, such as the Ten Commandments, breaks the law and supports government endorsement of a particular religion.”
Rep. Hostettler sponsored a similar amendment regarding a Ten Commandments monument in Alabama in 2003 that passed the House but was rejected in the Senate.
Dr. Gaddy concluded “This amendment is another attempt by a member of Congress to stop the courts from standing up for the First Amendment and the constitutional principles that define the separation of powers between the three branches of our government. We stand firmly in support of freedom for and from religion for people of all faith traditions in this, the most religiously diverse nation on earth. We remind Congress that despite Rep. Hostettler’s declaration that the ruling was unconstitutional and inconsistent with "the Christian heritage of the United States," our nation remains committed to religious freedom, unhampered by the establishment of any religion.
Related Link: Letter To Rep. Hostettler
Related Post: Congressman John Hostettler Accuses Democrats Of "Demonizing Christians"; Forced To Retract Remarks
