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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5187 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5187

  To provide for a cause of action to remedy prohibitions on personal 
                           prayer in schools.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 11, 2023

Mr. Gaetz (for himself, Mr. Rosendale, Mr. Biggs, Mr. Good of Virginia, 
and Mr. Crane) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
  To provide for a cause of action to remedy prohibitions on personal 
                           prayer in schools.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protect Prayer in Schools Act of 
2023''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) The United States of America is a nation under God.
            (2) The Declaration of Independence makes clear that our 
        nation was blessed by the ``Supreme Judge of the world'' and 
        our laws are derived from ``Laws of Nature'' and ``Nature's 
        God.''
            (3) At the time of the First Amendment's drafting, many 
        states observed state religions and referred to God in their 
        constitutions--thus, the 1st Amendment was never intended to 
        contrast with the existence and veneration of God throughout 
        our states.
            (4) The intent of the Constitution was never to render the 
        United States a secular country;
            (5) Our Founding Fathers would be appalled to learn the 
        Establishment Clause of the 1st Amendment was being weaponized 
        not to prevent the establishment of a state religion, but to 
        suppress religion in schools across the states, contrary to the 
        Free Exercise Clause.
            (6) John Adams said in 1789, while addressing the 
        Massachusetts Militia, ``Our constitution was made only for a 
        moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the 
        government of any other.''
            (7) On June 28, 1813, John Adams wrote to Thomas Jefferson 
        saying, ``The general Principles, on which the Fathers 
        Atchieved Independence, were the only Principles in which, that 
        beautiful Assembly of young Gentlemen could Unite, and these 
        Principles only could be intended by them in their Address, or 
        by me in my Answer. And what were these general Principles? I 
        answer, the general Principles of Christianity. . .''
            (8) James Madison wrote in 1785 in his Memorial and 
        Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments ``It is the duty of 
        every man to render to the Creator such homage. Before any man 
        can be considered as a member of Civil Society, he must be 
        considered as a subject of the Governor of the Universe.''
            (9) Alexander Hamilton wrote to James Bayard in 1802: ``I 
        now offer you the outline of the plan they have suggested. Let 
        an association be formed to be denominated''The Christian 
        Constitutional Society,`` its object to be first: The support 
        of the Christian religion. Second: The support of Constitution 
        of the United States.''
            (10) George Washington, on October 3rd in 1789 at a 
        National Day of Thanksgiving, wrote ``. . . it is the duty of 
        all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to 
        obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to 
        implore His protection and favor .''
            (11) On May 9, 1833 Chief Justice John Marshall wrote to 
        Jasper Adams: ``The American population is entirely Christian, 
        and with us Christianity and Religion are identified. It would 
        be strange indeed, if with such a people, our institutions did 
        not presuppose Christianity, and did not often refer to it, and 
        exhibit relations with it.''
            (12) On March 28, 1787, Dr. Benjamin Rush wrote an open 
        letter ``To the citizens of Philadelphia: A Plan for Free 
        Schools'', saying, ``Let the children . . . be carefully 
        instructed in the principles and obligations of the Christian 
        religion. This is the most essential part of education. The 
        great enemy of the salvation of man, in my opinion, never 
        invented a more effectual means of extirpating Christianity 
        from the world than by persuading mankind that it was improper 
        to read the Bible at schools . . .'' The only foundation for a 
        useful education in a republic is to be laid in religion. 
        Without this there can be no virtue, and without virtue there 
        can be no liberty.
            (13) The Same Congress that passed the 1st Amendment, also 
        drafted Article 3 of the Northwest Ordinance which contained 
        the following language: ``Religion, Morality and knowledge 
        being necessary to good government and the happiness of 
        mankind, Schools and the means of education shall be forever 
        encouraged.''
            (14) While the founders did not wish to establish state 
        religion, they sought to encourage and protect religion 
        throughout the United States.
            (15) The Supreme Court of the United States held in Kennedy 
        v. Bremerton School District that the Free Exercise and Free 
        Speech Clauses of the First Amendment protect an individual 
        engaging in a personal religious observance from government 
        reprisal.
            (16) The Constitution neither mandates nor permits the 
        government to suppress such religious expression.

SEC. 3. CIVIL ACTION.

    Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, 
regulation, custom, or usage, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any 
citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction 
thereof to any limitation on the ability of that person to engage in 
personal prayer in public elementary and secondary schools shall be 
liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or 
other proper proceeding for redress, except that in any action brought 
against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in such 
officer's judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted 
unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory relief was 
unavailable. For purposes of this section, the terms ``elementary 
school'' and ``secondary school'' have the meanings given those terms 
in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7801).
                                 <all>
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