“Useless laws weaken the necessary laws.” – Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (1689 – 1755)

May 23, 2012

Gov. Nixon sets Aug. 7 election on right to pray

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Gov. Jay Nixon today issued a proclamation setting the vote on a constitutional right to pray for the Aug, 7, 2012, ballot.

House Joint Resolution No. 2, passed by the General Assembly in 2011, proposes a constitutional amendment to Article I, Section 5, of the Missouri Constitution, guaranteeing the right to pray.  Without the Governor’s action today, the proposed constitutional amendment would have appeared on the Nov. 6, 2012, ballot.

Because the provisions of the amendment would be effective immediately if approved by voters, Gov. Nixon chose to set the election in August.

I suppose people could pray for a jobs bill from the Missouri General Assembly. That would be a waste of breath.

Previously:

HJR 2: “Useless laws weaken the necessary laws.” (December 30, 2010)

Department of Redundancy Department: Representative Mike McGhee (r) (January 4, 2010)

HJR 62: brace yourself for “Talk Like a Pirate Day” (May 5, 2010)

After a couple of weeks of silence we’ve been treated to a flurry of Twitter activity from Representative Vicky Hartzler (r). Priorities:

@RepHartzler Rep. Vicky Hartzler

Have signed onto letter to Mayor Bloomberg entreating him to allow prayer at the 9-11 memorial service. 3 hours ago

From which religion? Or all of them?

As if individuals can’t pray as they want when they see fit to do so? Oh, she means imposing one or another type of prayer on everyone else at the “official” memorial service.

Well, the Supreme Court could look the other way if Congress goes into legislative session at the memorial service. Maybe they could work on a jobs bill.

Don’t be redundant and say the same thing over and over gain repeatedly several times a lot.

HJR 59 was pre-filed and then withdrawn on December 22nd by Representative Mike McGhee (r – birther):

HJR 59 Proposes a constitutional amendment guaranteeing a citizen’s First Amendment right to pray on public property and reaffirming a citizen’s right to choose any or no religion

Sponsor: McGhee, Mike (122) Proposed Effective Date: Referendum

CoSponsor: Davis, Cynthia L. (19) ……….etal. LR Number: 3541L.01I

Last Action: 12/22/2009 – Withdrawn (H)

HJR59

Next Hearing: Hearing not scheduled

Calendar: Bill currently not on a calendar

[emphasis added]

Ooh, look, Representative Cynthia Davis (r – “Are there no prisons? Are there no work houses?”) was a co-sponsor.

Uh, I remember reading something about this somewhere. Oh, yes:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…

[emphasis added]

And this:

Article VI

…This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof…shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.

And this:

Missouri Constitution

Article I

BILL OF RIGHTS

Section 5

…Section 5. That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences; that no human authority can control or interfere with the rights of conscience…

Uh, that pretty much covers it, don’t you think?

Evidently Representative Mike McGhee doesn’t think so:

HJR 62 Proposes a constitutional amendment guaranteeing a citizen’s right to pray

Sponsor: McGhee, Mike (122) Proposed Effective Date: Referendum

CoSponsor: LR Number: 4153L.01I

Last Action: 12/28/2009 – Prefiled (H)

HJR62

Next Hearing: Hearing not scheduled

Calendar: Bill currently not on a calendar

[emphasis added]

Uh, isn’t this redundant?

SECOND REGULAR SESSION

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 62

95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES McGHEE (Sponsor), DAVIS, BURLISON, JONES (89), ERVIN, KRAUS, THOMSON, DIECKHAUS, LAIR, DEEKEN, SCHIEFFER, RUZICKA, FUNDERBURK, WELLS, SMITH (150), RUESTMAN, GATSCHENBERGER, COX, WASSON, DETHROW, WILSON (130), WALLACE, WILSON (119) AND KOENIG (Co-sponsors).

4153L.01I                                                                                                                                                  D. ADAM CRUMBLISS, Chief Clerk

JOINT RESOLUTION

Submitting to the qualified voters of Missouri an amendment repealing section 5 of article I of the Constitution of Missouri, and adopting one new section in lieu thereof relating to the right to pray.

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring therein:

           That at the next general election to be held in the state of Missouri, on Tuesday next following the first Monday in November, 2010, or at a special election to be called by the governor for that purpose, there is hereby submitted to the qualified voters of this state, for adoption or rejection, the following amendment to article I of the Constitution of the state of Missouri:

           Section A. Section 5, article I, Constitution of Missouri, is repealed and one new section adopted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 5, to read as follows:

           Section 5. That all men and women have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences; that no human authority can control or interfere with the rights of conscience; that no person shall, on account of his or her religious persuasion or belief, be rendered ineligible to any public office or trust or profit in this state, be disqualified from testifying or serving as a juror, or be molested in his or her person or estate; that to secure a citizen’s right to acknowledge Almighty God according to the dictates of his or her own conscience, neither the state nor any of its political subdivisions shall establish any official religion, nor shall a citizen’s right to pray or express his or her religious beliefs be infringed; that the state shall not coerce any person to participate in any prayer or other religious activity, but shall ensure that any person shall have the right to pray individually or corporately in a private or public setting so long as such prayer does not result in disturbance of the peace or disruption of a public meeting or assembly; that citizens as well as elected officials and employees of the state of Missouri and its political subdivisions shall have the right to pray on government premises and public property so long as such prayers abide within the same parameters placed upon any other free speech under similar circumstances; that the General Assembly and the governing bodies of political subdivisions may extend to ministers, clergypersons, and other individuals the privilege to offer invocations or other prayers at meetings or sessions of the General Assembly or governing bodies; that students may express their beliefs about religion in written and oral assignments free from discrimination based on the religious content of their work; that no student shall be compelled to perform or participate in academic assignments or educational presentations that violate his or her religious beliefs; that the state shall ensure public school students their right to free exercise of religious expression without interference, as long as such prayer or other expression is private and voluntary, whether individually or corporately, and in a manner that is not disruptive and as long as such prayers or expressions abide within the same parameters placed upon any other free speech under similar circumstances; and, to emphasize the right to free exercise of religious expression, that all free public schools receiving state appropriations shall display, in a conspicuous and legible manner, the text of the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United States; but this section shall not be construed to expand the rights of prisoners in state or local custody beyond those afforded by the laws of the United States, excuse acts of licentiousness, nor to justify practices inconsistent with the good order, peace or safety of the state, or with the rights of others.

           Section B. Pursuant to Chapter 116, RSMo, and other applicable constitutional provisions and laws of this state allowing the General Assembly to adopt ballot language for the submission of a joint resolution to the voters of this state, the official ballot title of the amendment proposed in Section A shall be as follows:

           “Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to ensure:

           •          That the right of Missouri citizens to express their religious beliefs shall not be infringed;

           •          That school children have the right to pray and acknowledge God voluntarily in their schools; and

           •          That all public schools shall display the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution.”.

Heh. As long as there are tests there will always be prayer in school. And as long as there’s a Missouri General Assembly there’ll always be state representatives who’ll waster everyone’s time introducing redundant legislation.

At Majikthise:

…Eliminationist wags were selling bumper stickers that read “Pray for Obama: Psalm 109:8” on Cafe Press. Psalm 109:8 reads: “Let his days be few. Let another take is his office.” The next verse is, “Let his children be fatherless And his wife a widow.” Followed by, “Let his children wander about and beg; And let them seek sustenance far from their ruined homes.” How long before one of these is spotted on the bumper of a hapless Republican county chair? I’m taking bets.

At beliefnet:

Psalm 109:8–A Prayer for Obama or Ourselves?

….the “Prayer for Obama,” does more than anticipate that he leaves office; it entreats God to destroy the president.

Psalm 109 belongs to a special category of the psalms known as “imprecatory” prayers–it is a lament in the form of petition to destroy one’s enemies.  It is the personal prayer of an individual, someone who has been dealt an injustice by another–and usually more powerful–person.  The words of Psalm 109 are those of deep agony, the longings of a victim for retribution and justice.  This psalm is considered one of the most difficult of all the psalms–full of violent images of vengeance and death.   Many a biblical critic has struggled with its words–and not a few–including Roman Catholic and mainline Protestant theologians–recommend that it not be used in public worship, much less as a bumper-sticker political slogan….

Such nice people.

From CafePress:

….This morning we made the decision to remove all Psalms 109:8 designs from CafePress.

The public debate started with questioning if the design was simply intended to be criticism of the President or something much worse. The discourse was surprisingly civil online, given the heated nature of the topic. Given that, and the positions of groups like the ACLU and the Anti-Defamation League, we decided to let the dialogue play out publicly before making a final decision.

Last night we posted a poll on our blog, read through the emails we’ve received and weighed the nature of the calls we’ve received on the topic. In the process we also learned that many of the original designers of the Psalm 109:8 designs had already decided to remove them on their own.

General consensus has proven that the design does point to a broader interpretation of the Psalm and thus has been deemed inappropriate for sale at CafePress.

We try to create an atmosphere of self-expression. Many of the things we encounter are not black and white, but grey. When the dialogue is civil, we want to let the larger community work things out rather than making an uninformed ruling. The dialogue has played out and common sentiment has reached agreement – this merchandise is not appropriate….

[emphasis added]