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Foxx: allowing references to God the right decision
Washington, DC,
October 11, 2007
Congresswoman Virginia Foxx today praised a decision allowing Members of Congress to use references to God on messages to constituents that accompany flags flown over the Capitol. The decision came after the Architect of the Capitol last
Contact: Aaron Groen Under pressure, Architect of the Capitol reverses decision to strike references to God Congresswoman Virginia Foxx today praised a decision allowing Members of Congress to use references to God on messages to constituents that accompany flags flown over the Capitol. The decision came after the Architect of the Capitol last week attempted to ban all references to God on the certificates sent by Representatives to constituents who requested flags to be flown over the Capitol. “The attempt to remove any use of God from these certificates was an outrage and the move to reverse this terrible decision is the right one,” Rep. Foxx said. “Communication between Congress and constituents should never be party to government censorship, especially when the censorship targets references to God.” The flag certificate controversy erupted when Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio) submitted a certificate for a 17-year-old Eagle Scout who planned to give it to his grandfather. It read, “This flag was flown in honor of Marcel Larochelle, my grandfather, for his dedication and love of God, Country, and family.” The Architect of the Capitol refused to approve the certificate with the reference to God included. “An Eagle Scout who wants to honor his grandfather for dedication to God, country and family should be celebrated, not given a gag order by a government employee,” Foxx said. “Average Americans are tired of attempts by politicians and bureaucrats to strike references to God from the public square. This decision is finally a sign that enough is enough.” Rep. Foxx is a co-sponsor of the Andrew Larochelle God, Family, and Country Act of 2007 (H.R.3779). The aim of this bill is to reverse the Architect of the Capitol’s policy prohibiting the inclusion of religious references on the flag certificates for flags flown over the U.S. Capitol. The new policy for certificates that accompany flags flown over the Capitol will allow for freedom of expression. The policy will now allow Representatives to include personal messages of up to 300 characters. ### |