Judiciary

TEN COMMANDMENTS: I oppose the Ten Commandments being carted out of the Alabama State Judicial Complex. It is a scene I would expect to see in North Korea, not the United States. The federal courts should not be telling a state that there is no room for the public display of the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments Defense Act simply returns to the individual states the power to make the decision of whether the Ten Commandments may be displayed on or within publicly owned buildings. This legislation in no way instructs states to display the Ten Commandments, nor does it force the states must consider this issue. It simply provides states the option of allowing the important decisions in this matter to be made by those closest to the people and the communities -- not by Washington and those within the federal government.

Court cases show that for 160 years, Christian principles were legally inseparable from American public life. John Jay, the original Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court—and one of the three men most responsible for the Constitution—declared in 1816, "Providence has given to our people the choice of their rules, and it is the duty—as well as the privilege and interest—of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”

But that is changing. How long has it been since we have heard that kind of statement from the Supreme Court? We as Americans must be concerned by what has happened to America since the courts have begun rejecting the Founders’ beliefs.

The intent of the Founders in drafting the First Amendment was abundantly clear; before they approved the final wording, it went through extensive discussions and nearly a dozen drafts. Those discussions are recorded in the Congressional Record from June 7 through September 25, 1789, and they make clear that they did not want in America what they had in England. We are not all Catholics, or Anglicans, and they didn’t want one denomination running the nation. They wanted God’s principles running the country.

The Ten Commandments form the very basis of God’s principles. But no matter what one believes—or doesn’t—they are the indisputable basis of our Judeo-Christian ethic, and they form the framework of our body of law. I believe that contemporary leaders must return America to its original guiding philosophy.

ASBESTOS LITIGATION REFORM: For much of the last century, asbestos was a favorite component of American manufacturing because it was cheap and remarkably impervious to heat, fire, and corrosion. It was used to insulate and fireproof everything from steam engines and military gear, to buildings and theater curtains. Yet since the 60's, when asbestos was found to cause cancer, it has been a source of costly litigation.

It is time to end this crisis. Companies with even peripheral ties to the material have made big payouts in court to victims of asbestos-related diseases, sending some firms into bankruptcy, while other have paid huge settlements to avoid jury trials. The sickest victims are crowded in massive class-action lawsuits, sometimes resulting in little compensation for their deadly or debilitating illnesses.

I see reforming the asbestos litigation system as part of a larger push to limit the tort system. Victims and businesses are suffering. Legislation is desperately needed that both ensures equity through proper compensation for victims and economic revitalization through financial certainty for companies. I look forward to the House addressing this issue in the coming months.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: I was appalled to learn of the 9th Circuit's decision declaring the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional, and even more so when I read the opinion itself. The Court held that the Pledge of Allegiance was an endorsement of religion in violation of the First Amendment because of the words "under God" inserted after the phrase "one nation." The three-judge panel ruled that the words, which were inserted in the pledge by Congress in 1954, amounted to "a profession of a religious belief, namely, a belief in monotheism."

I couldn't disagree more.

Throughout its history, American government has recognized the part played by our Creator, from the Declaration of Independence in 1776 to the Supreme Court in 2002, where the Marshall implores that "God Save the United States and this Honorable Court" to open each session. President Bush summed it up best when he said, "America is a nation that values our relationship with an Almighty. A declaration of God in the Pledge of Allegiance doesn't violate rights. As a matter of fact, it's a confirmation of the fact that we received our rights from God, as proclaimed in our Declaration of Independence."

FLAG DESECRATION: I have consistently felt that desecration of the very symbol of our liberty is an act not befitting Americans. I have been a cosponsor of an amendment to the United States Constitution that would prohibit the physical desecration of the United States flag. When our national symbol is attacked, our nation itself is attacked. For over 200 years, Americans have fought to preserve and protect the Land of the Free. These people and those at home who believe and respect liberty deserve better than to have that same liberty held in contempt.