World News
Court's ruling on 'under God' in pledge seen as 'breath of fresh air'
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SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) -- A federal appeals court's ruling upholding the constitutionality of the phrase "one nation under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance is a "breath of fresh air from a court system that has too often seemed to be almost allergic to public references to God," according to the head of the Knights of Columbus. Carl A. Anderson, supreme knight, also called the March 11 decision by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, a "victory for common sense." The Knights of Columbus, which led efforts to persuade Congress to add the phrase to the pledge in 1954, joined the case as defendants when it was filed in 2005 by California atheist Dr. Michael Newdow, a physician with a law degree. Writing for the majority in the 2-1 opinion, Judge Carlos T. Bea said, "Not every mention of God or religion by our government or at the government's direction is a violation of the Establishment Clause" of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. "The pledge is constitutional," Bea added. Newdow had charged that references to God in the pledge disrespected his religious beliefs. In an earlier challenge to the phrase, Newdow had said recitation of the pledge in public schools violated his daughter's constitutional rights and the 9th circuit court agreed in 2002. But the U.S. Supreme Court overturned that ruling in 2004 on technical grounds, saying that Newdow lacked standing to sue on behalf of his daughter because he did not have primary custody of her.
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