I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3190

To safeguard our religious liberties. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2003

Mr. PICKERING introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL

To safeguard our religious liberties.

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 ‘‘Safeguarding Our Reli5 gious Liberties Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The Declaration of Independence declares 

9 that governments are instituted to secure certain 

10 unalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the 

11 pursuit of happiness, with which all human beings 
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1 are endowed by their Creator and to which they are 

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

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

4 and the constitutions of every State, using various 

5 expressions, recognize God as the source of the 

6 blessings of liberty. 

7 (3) The first amendment to the Constitution se8 cures rights against laws respecting an establish9 ment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise 

10 thereof made by the Federal Government. 

11 (4) The rights secured under the first amend12 ment have been interpreted by the Federal courts to 

13 be included among the provisions of the 14th 

14 amendment. 

15 (5) The 10th amendment reserves to the States, 

16 respectively, the powers not delegated to the Federal 

17 Government nor prohibited to the States. 

18 (6) Disputes and doubts have arisen with re19 spect to public displays of the Ten Commandments 

20 and to other public expression of religious faith. 

21 (7) Section 5 of the 14th amendment grants 

22 Congress the power to enforce the provisions of the 

23 14th amendment. 

24 (8) Article III, section 2 of the Constitution 

25 grants Congress the authority to except certain mat-
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1 ters from the jurisdiction of the Federal courts infe2 rior to the Supreme Court. 

3 SEC. 3. RELIGIOUS LIBERTY RIGHTS DECLARED. 

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

5 to display the Ten Commandments on or within property 

6 owned or administered by the several States or political 

7 subdivisions of such States is among the powers reserved 

8 to the States, respectively. 

9 (b) WORD ‘‘GOD’’ IN PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.—The 

10 power to recite the Pledge of Allegiance on or within prop11 erty owned or administered by the several States or polit12 ical subdivisions of such States is among the powers re13 served to the States, respectively. The Pledge of Allegiance 

14 shall be, ‘‘I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United 

15 States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, 

16 one Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and justice 

17 for all.’’. 

18 (c) MOTTO ‘‘IN GOD WE TRUST’’.—The power to re19 cite the national motto on or within property owned or 

20 administered by the several States or political subdivisions 

21 of such States is among the powers reserved to the States, 

22 respectively. The national motto shall be, ‘‘In God we 

23 trust’’. 

24 (d) EXERCISE OF CONGRESSIONAL POWER TO EX25 CEPT.—The subject matter of subsections (a), (b), and (c) 
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1 are excepted from the jurisdiction of Federal courts infe2 rior to the Supreme Court.

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