05 SR326/CA/1
Senate
Resolution 326
By:
Senators Schaefer of the 50th, Williams of the 19th, Hill of the 32nd, Stephens
of the 27th, Pearson of the 51st and others
ADOPTED
SENATE
A
RESOLUTION
Encouraging
support for the display of the Ten Commandments as a Constitutional
acknowledgment of God by local governments and the State of Georgia; and for
other purposes.
WHEREAS,
the United States Constitution is the supreme law of the land; and
WHEREAS,
every state and federal public official is "bound by Oath or Affirmation to
support this Constitution"; and
WHEREAS,
it is the duty of a court or judge to interpret the law, not to make the law;
and
WHEREAS,
to prohibit the recognition of God not only contradicts the purpose of the First
Amendment to the United States Constitution, but also is an unlawful order and
extrajudicial in nature; and
WHEREAS,
the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment requires only that "Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion" and does not prohibit
public acknowledgments of God; and
WHEREAS,
a public monument, display, or framed picture of anything, including the Ten
Commandments, whether hung on a wall or displayed in a public area or hallway,
cannot be a "law" simply because it appears in a public building;
and
WHEREAS,
the Ten Commandments, which is the foundational moral code for our nation, in
part states:
I.
I am the LORD thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
II.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.
III.
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain.
IV.
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
V.
Honor thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long upon the land which
the LORD thy God giveth thee.
VI.
Thou shalt not kill.
VII.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
VIII.
Thou shalt not steal.
IX.
Thou shalt not commit false witness against thy neighbor.
X.
Thou shalt not covet anything that is thy neighbor´s; and
WHEREAS,
"religion" under the First Amendment is defined as "[t]he duty which we owe to
our Creator, and the manner of discharging it," and while a display of the Ten
Commandments certainly lists several duties owed to the Creator, it does not
dictate the manner of discharging these duties, such being left to the purview
of conscience; and
WHEREAS,
the Declaration of Independence, our Nation´s charter, is filled with
recognitions of a Providential God Who has endowed us with "certain unalienable
rights"; and
WHEREAS,
every state constitution acknowledges God, and the Constitution of Georgia is no
exception; and
WHEREAS,
the United States Supreme Court is to make a ruling using, for the first time,
oral arguments and written briefs on the merits of displaying the Ten
Commandments in public places.
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that, in order to remind our citizens of
the constitutionality of publicly displaying the Ten Commandments in government
buildings, this body encourages our citizens to support the public display of
the Ten Commandments and other historical documents that acknowledge God in the
founding and establishing of our nation.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this body encourages the Governor of Georgia to
continue to support those public displays of the Ten Commandments that already
exist in our state, as well as promote the practice of displaying the Ten
Commandments in public buildings as an appropriate way to acknowledge God, the
moral foundation of our laws.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this body exhorts the United States Supreme Court to
follow the historical intent of the framers of the Constitution, as is testified
by the Congressional record, and restore the original intent of the First
Amendment.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed
to transmit appropriate copies of this resolution to the Governor and the United
States Supreme Court, and to make copies readily available to the local
officials of the State of Georgia.