CLEARLY UNCONSTITUTIONAL!! SO WHY IS IT ON THE BOOKS?!
Please join me to combat this! We MUST do something to fight this clear unconstitutional laws on the state constitutions! Organize a protest! A petition! File a Lawsuit! DO SOMETHING! If we work as a group we can overcome theocratic policies like this!
Before I begin let me site the 6th Article of The Constitution of the United States [which is widely held as the HIGHEST law in the land! - the constitution that is]:
" No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."
Now! Let's take a look at the states that violate the highest lawbook of the land!
[THESE ARE FROM THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS!]
ARKANSAS: "No person who denies the being of a God shall hold any office in the civil departments of this State, nor be competent to testify as a witness in any Court."
SOUTH CAROLINA: "Person denying existence of Supreme Being not to hold office. No person who denies the existence of the Supreme Being shall hold any office under this Constitution."
TENNESSEE: "No person who denies the being of God, or a future state of rewards and punishments, shall hold any office in the civil department of this state."
TEXAS: "The Bill of Rights last amended on September 13, 2003 states that an official may be excluded from holding office if she/he does not acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being."
MARYLAND: "That as it is the duty of every man to worship God in such manner as he thinks most acceptable to Him, all persons are equally entitled to protection in their religious liberty� provided, he believes in the existence of God, and that under His dispensation such person will be held morally accountable for his acts, and be rewarded or punished therefore either in this world or in the world to come.That no religious test ought ever to be required as a qualification for any office of profit or trust in this State, other than a declaration of belief in the existence of God."
MISSISSIPPI: "No person who denies the existence of a Supreme Being shall hold any office in this state."
Thoughts? Ideas? Etc?
Tags: america, american, be, constitution, elected, elections, for, office, public, religious, More…
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by AndyMeanie on -
federal law outdoes state law anyway, so those laws mean nothing.
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Permalink Reply by Jon Heim on -
going by these laws..you could beleive that their literally is a flying spaghetti monster, and you would be more respected then an atheist.
facepalm*
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Permalink Reply by Skycomet the Fallen Angel on -
HA HA HA! RAmen!
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Permalink Reply by Anathema6205 on -
Alot of things happen that are unconstitutional; it all depends on who raises their voices to protest or not.
The question is: how will we do so and be heard?
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Permalink Reply by Nelson on -
they're not going to be taken off the books any time soon. for the laws to be taken off the books would take a state legislator to bring the removal of the law before the legislature for debate. anyone who would do so in this climate would be committing political suicide. just imagine the attack ads in the subsequent election: "so-and-so fought to change state laws prohibiting atheists from holding public office!"
it doesn't really matter that they're on the books though as they're unenforceable. they were ruled unconstitutional in 1961 (Torcaso v. Watkins).
there are plenty of silly laws on the books. if they're not being enforced i think there's more important things to do.
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Permalink Reply by Frank on -
Unless these laws are actually used to block someone from taking office, it's pretty pointless, and a waste of time and money to fight to have them stricken from the law. I think there are more important things fight about at this time.
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Permalink Reply by Hillary Spencer on -
well in NC an atheist was elected and the "religious right" tried to get him booted out because of the state constitution. It didn't work they had their panties in a bunch because when he made his oath to office he didnt say "so help me god"
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Permalink Reply by Timothy Van Uytfang on -
Oh, well...Sorry, but this just has to be said:
Only in America!
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Permalink Reply by Michel-san on -
And the middle east :P
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Permalink Reply by Skycomet the Fallen Angel on
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From an American... no offense taken!
Damn my theocratic idiocracy!
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Permalink Reply by Ryan E. Hoffman on -
You know, even though I'm pretty upset with this, I happen to agree with those here, especially since it was already ruled Unconstitutional, I don't think that it's that big of a deal. You can always appeal. All it will take in Arkansas is for an atheist to witness a crime, and allow a criminal to get off because his or her testimony is not relevant.
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Permalink Reply by Ava Wilson on -
These aren't challenged because they don't matter. North Carolina also has a clause in their constitution, that's why one office holder who is openly Atheist is being challenged for his seat because of the clause. But luckily, the Constitution of the US trumps any state constitution by default. The clauses don't need to be changed, i.e.: they aren't priority, because they don't matter. Because they're unconstitutional, they don't hold up in court if they're used as a foundation. They're essentially just words. All someone has to do is say 'Sorry, it's my 6th Amendment right', and the controversy is over. Remember, THE Constitution comes before state constitutions, so if something in the lesser constitution conflicts with the one our federal government uses, the federal law wins.
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