Capitol Report
Missouri House passes prayer in public places
by Chuck Gatschenberger
April 24, 2009
Not too long ago, a Missouri student drew a picture that said “Jesus Loves Me”. Her teacher advised her to change the drawing to say, “Mommy Loves Me”, taking out the name Jesus. In a similar situation, a young girl brought her Bible to study hall. She was asked to put the Bible away and not read it while at school.
Hearing about these incidents was deeply concerning to me. Our country was founded on the freedom of speech and the freedom of religion. Why should we deny our children the ability to exercise these essential liberties? It became obvious that something needed to be done in order to guarantee our rights as Americans.
My good friend, Representative Mike McGhee, introduced legislation that protects the Constitutional rights of Missouri citizens through House Joint Resolution 11. HJR 11 guarantees a citizen’s First Amendment right to pray and worship in all public areas including schools. These activities must be voluntary and held to the same rules and regulations that apply to all other types of speech. Of course, citizens retain the right to choose any religion, or no religion at all. It also states that public schools receiving state funds must display the text of the Bill of Rights in a visible and legible manner.
A portion of the resolution also seeks to protect state employees and elected officials by guarding the right to pray on government premises and public property. Each day, we open session with prayer and this resolution will allow us to continue doing so.
HJR 11 passed through the House this week, and is headed to the Senate for approval. If passed through the Senate, the resolution will be placed on a statewide ballot next year for a public vote of the people.
This resolution will allow us to take a firm stance against those who try to deny our citizens their basic rights. I fully support HJR 11, and if passed through the Senate, I hope you will also vote to back such an important issue.
As always, please let me know your thoughts about these or other matters of concern by calling my office at 573-751-3572 or by e-mailing me at chuck.gatschenberger@house.mo.gov.
Copyright 2009 Neighbors About Town
