Posted by
Craig Freeborn on Saturday, September 30, 2006 4:01:11 AM
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Back in the days before the Internet – some of my younger children don’t even remember life without the Web – I was part of a grassroots conservative movement that launched a new political party. Like a “shooting star”, it momentarily blazed across the political landscape but has largely faded into little more than a footnote in history. Oh, I don’t think our efforts were in vain. We – along with thousands of other like-minded Freeborn Americans – ultimately were responsible for electing our 40th President – Ronald Wilson Reagan – and helping him illuminate that “Shining City Upon A Hill”.
Since the Internet at that time was only a gleam in Al Gore’s eye, we relied on community meetings held in private homes and in meeting rooms in banks, schools, and libraries. Banks would often let our groups use their facilities as a community service – for which we were appropriately appreciative. But schools and libraries were a little different. If a public school or library allowed any community group – Scouts, PTAs, Women’s Reading Groups, etc. – to use their meeting rooms after hours, the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech required them to allow all groups the same access. We were polite, not overly demanding, and rarely had any problem scheduling our meetings.
That’s why I was disappointed – not shocked – when my wife and I returned from our recent vacation and noticed that a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has once again thumbed its nose at the Constitution and all Freeborn Americans.
It seems the Contra Costa County, California Library has a rule prohibiting the use of its community room by religious organizations. So when the Faith Center Church Evangelistic Ministries of Antioch requested its use, it was turned down.
A lower court – no doubt remembering its eighth grade Constitution class – ruled in favor of the church. But this panel of the most-overturned-Circuit-Court-in-America reversed that ruling.
The Senor Judge on the panel, one Lawrence Karlton, wrote:
“As the First Amendment notes, religious speech is categorically different than secular speech and is subject to analysis under the Establishment and Free Exercise Clause without regard to the jurisprudence of free speech… It is simply untenable to insist that there is no difference between a prayer and, e.g., political speech.”
Well yes… That’s why the Founders added the “free exercise clause” as one additional protection – contrary to Judge Karlton’s incomprehensible assertion that it affords it less protection.
The United States Supreme Court, by the way, long ago ruled that Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment makes the prohibitions and protections against the Federal Government applicable to the states. In his opinion, Judge Karlton tries to poke his thumb in the Supreme Court’s collective eye when he wrote “To coin a phrase, one can only pray for the Supreme Court’s enlightenment.”
This ruling will, of course, be appealed. But I think it’s high time Freeborn Americans stand up to activist judges. The Constitution says – In Article III Section 1 – that Judges “shall hold their offices during good behavior.” I call upon Congress to start enforcing this “good behavior” clause and initiate impeachment proceedings against those federal judges who stray from this constitutional admonition.
When Thomas Jefferson said “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance”, he was not referring to enemies from outside our borders – he was referring to vigilance of our own elected and appointed officials.