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Regular Session, 2013 ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 88
BY SENATOR CROWE
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON
To memorialize the Congress of the United States to adopt the Constitution Restoration Act,
which will limit the jurisdiction of the federal courts and preserve the right to
acknowledge God to the states and to the people and resolve the issue of improper
judicial intervention in matters relating to the acknowledgment of God.
WHEREAS, on Monday, June 27, 2005, the United States Supreme Court in two
razor-thin majorities of 5-4 in Van Orden v. Perry (Texas) and ACLU v. McCreary County
(Kentucky) concluded that it is consistent with the First Amendment to display the Ten
Commandments in an outdoor public square in Texas but not on the courthouse walls of two
counties in Kentucky; and
WHEREAS, American citizens are concerned that the court has produced two
opposite results involving the same Ten Commandments, leading to the conclusion that,
based on the Kentucky decision, the Ten Commandments may be displayed in a county
courthouse provided it is not backed by a belief in God; and
WHEREAS, Supreme Justice Scalia emphasized the importance of the Ten
Commandments when he stated in the Kentucky case, "The three most popular religions in
the United States, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, which combined account for 97.7% of
all believers, are monotheistic. All of them, moreover, believe that the Ten Commandments
were given by God to Moses and are divine prescriptions for a virtuous life"; and
WHEREAS, Chief Justice Rehnquist in the Texas case referred to the duplicity of
the United States Supreme Court in telling local governments in America that they may not
display the Ten Commandments in public buildings in their communities while at the same
time allowing these same Ten Commandments to be presented on these specific places on
the building housing the United States Supreme Court stating, "Since 1935, Moses has stood SCR NO. 88 ENROLLED
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holding two tablets that reveal portions of the Ten Commandments written in Hebrew,
among other lawgivers in the south frieze. Representations of the Ten Commandments
adorn the metal gates lining the north and south sides of the courtroom as well as the doors
leading into the courtroom. Moses also sits on the exterior east facade of the building
holding the Ten Commandments tablets"; and
WHEREAS, a recent poll by the First Amendment Center revealed that seventy
percent of Americans would have no objection to posting the Ten Commandments in
government buildings and eighty-five percent would approve if the Ten Commandments
were included as one document among many historical documents when displayed in public
buildings; and
WHEREAS, the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, which provides
in part that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion", is a
specific and unequivocal instruction to only the United States Congress, and the United
States Constitution makes no restriction on the ability of states to acknowledge God, the
Supreme Ruler of the Universe; and
WHEREAS, the United States District Court Southern District of Indiana on
November 30, 2005, entered a final judgment and permanent injunction ordering the speaker
of the Indiana House of Representatives not to permit sectarian prayers as part of the official
proceedings of the House; and
WHEREAS, the federal judiciary has violated one of the most sacred provisions of
the United States Constitution providing for three branches of government and the separation
of powers of those branches by overstepping its authority and dictating the activities of the
inner workings of the legislative branch of government; and
WHEREAS, the federal judiciary has overstepped its constitutional boundaries and
ruled against the acknowledgment of God as the sovereign source of law, liberty, and
government by local and state officers and other state institutions, including state schools;
and
WHEREAS, there is concern that recent decisions of the court will be used by
litigants in an effort to remove God from the public square in America, including public
buildings and public parks; and SCR NO. 88 ENROLLED
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WHEREAS, there is concern that the federal judiciary will continue to attempt to
micromanage the internal workings of the legislative as well as executive branches of
government; and
WHEREAS, Congress has previously filed, but has failed to adopt, the Constitution
Restoration Act, which will limit the jurisdiction of the federal courts and preserve the right
to acknowledge God to the states and to the people and resolve the issue of improper judicial
intervention in matters relating to the acknowledgment of God.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana hereby
memorializes the Congress of the United States to adopt the Constitution Restoration Act
and, in doing so, continue to protect the ability of the people of the United States to display
the Ten Commandments in public places, to express their faith in public, to retain God in the
Pledge of Allegiance, and to retain "In God We Trust" as our national motto, and to use
Article III, Section 2.2 of the United States Constitution to except these areas from the
jurisdiction of the United States Supreme Court.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution shall be transmitted
to the secretary of the United States Senate and the clerk of the United States House of
Representatives and to each member of the Louisiana delegation to the United States
Congress.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES