I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2045

To defend the Ten Commandments. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 9, 2003

Mr. ADERHOLT (for himself, Mr. AKIN, Mr. BACHUS, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, Mr. BEAUPREZ, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. BONNER, Mr. BRADY of 

Texas, Mr. BROWN of South Carolina, Mr. BURGESS, Mr. CANNON, Mr. 

CANTOR, Mr. CHOCOLA, Mr. CRANE, Mr. DELAY, Mr. DEMINT, Mr. 

DOOLITTLE, Mr. FEENEY, Mr. GOODE, Mr. GOODLATTE, Ms. HART, Mr. 

HAYES, Mr. HAYWORTH, Mr. HERGER, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. 

HOSTETTLER, Mr. ISTOOK, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. JONES of 

North Carolina, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. KLINE, Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky, 

Mr. LUCAS of Kentucky, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mrs. 

MUSGRAVE, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. OTTER, Mr. OXLEY, Mr. PENCE, Mr. 

PITTS, Mr. ROGERS of Alabama, Mr. RYUN of Kansas, Mr. SESSIONS, 

Mr. SHUSTER, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. SOUDER, Mr. STENHOLM, 

Mr. TERRY, Mr. TIAHRT, Mr. TIBERI, Mr. VITTER, Mr. WAMP, Mr. 

WHITFIELD, Mr. WICKER, and Mr. WILSON of South Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL

To defend the Ten Commandments.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ten Commandments 

5 Defense Act of 2003’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The Declaration of Independence declares 

4 that governments are instituted to secure certain 

5 unalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the 

6 pursuit of happiness, with which all human beings 

7 are endowed by their Creator and to which they are 

8 entitled by the laws of nature and of nature’s God. 

9 (2) The organic laws of the United States Code 

10 and the constitutions of every State, using various 

11 expressions, recognize God as the source of the 

12 blessings of liberty. 

13 (3) The First Amendment to the Constitution 

14 of the United States secures rights against laws re15 specting an establishment of religion or prohibiting 

16 the free exercise thereof made by the United States 

17 Government. 

18 (4) The rights secured under the first amend19 ment have been interpreted by courts of the United 

20 States Government to be included among the provi21 sions of the fourteenth amendment. 

22 (5) The tenth amendment reserves to the States 

23 respectively the powers not delegated to the United 

24 States Government nor prohibited to the States. 
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1 (6) Disputes and doubts have arisen with re2 spect to public displays of the Ten Commandments 

3 and to other public expression of religious faith. 

4 (7) Section 5 of the fourteenth amendment 

5 grants the Congress power to enforce the provisions 

6 of the said amendment. 

7 (8) Article I, section 8, grants the Congress 

8 power to constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme 

9 Court, and article III, section 1, grants the Congress 

10 power to ordain and establish courts in which the ju11 dicial power of the United States Government shall 

12 be vested. 

13 SEC. 3. RELIGIOUS LIBERTY RIGHTS DECLARED. 

14 (a) DISPLAY OF TEN COMMANDMENTS.—The power 

15 to display the Ten Commandments on or within property 

16 owned or administered by the several States or political 

17 subdivisions thereof is hereby declared to be among the 

18 powers reserved to the States respectively. 

19 (b) EXPRESSION OF RELIGIOUS FAITH.—The expres20 sion of religious faith by individual persons on or within 

21 property owned or administered by the several States or 

22 political subdivisions thereof is hereby—

23 (1) declared to be among the rights secured 

24 against laws respecting an establishment of religion 

25 or prohibiting the free exercise of religion made or 
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1 enforced by the United States Government or by any 

2 department or executive or judicial officer thereof; 

3 and 

4 (2) declared to be among the liberties of which 

5 no State shall deprive any person without due proc6 ess of law made in pursuance of powers reserved to 

7 the States respectively. 

8 (c) EXERCISE OF JUDICIAL POWER.—The courts 

9 constituted, ordained, and established by the Congress 

10 shall exercise the judicial power in a manner consistent 

11 with the foregoing declarations.

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