The battle over a religious liberty amendment to the Constitution is finally underway. After months of internal debate among conservative Christians, precise wording has emerged for a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at strengthening the First Amendment's protection of religious freedoms. The other, offered by House Judiciary Committee chair Henry Hyde, R-Ill., is being cast as the more moderate version.
Prospects are likely for prolonged debate over both, with ultimate passage far from certain.
We must not let them succeed. President Clinton weighed in against the need for any amendment. Clinton insisted that the First Amendment, coupled with recent court rulings that have accorded greater deference to religious speech, gives religious Americans ample opportunity to express their views in public forums. Indeed, conservative Christian groups, including The American Center for Law and Justice, have alerted mayors that recent court rulings make it substantially easier for private groups to erect religious displays on public property this Christmas season. But at a series of congressional hearings, Republicans pointed to dozens of individual cases in which students and others were barred from religious expressions.