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Show The Paper That Dares To Take A Stand October RESTORING PRAYER TO OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS of Florida. Mr. more than a decade has Speaker, since the controversial passed Court decisions which Supreme outlawed prayer from our public schools. During that time, thousands of Americans have written their Congressmen asking for a constitutional amendment to restore this precious privilege. One of my first acts in Congress was to sponsor such an- amendment. MR YOUNG Joint House Resolution 1, introduced in the 92dCongress. 1'his prayer amendment was identical Joint House to Resolution which was 191, defeated a discharge after narrowly it petition brought directly to the floor for a vote by the House. I reintroduced my prayer amendment in the 93d Congress as House Joint Resolution 125, and it was referred to the House which took no action on Judiciary it or any other prayer amendment. OnJuly 27, however, the Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments of the Senate Committee Judiciary opened on hearings proposed constitutional amendments to the of right public, guarantee in nondenominational prayer schools and other public public places, as well as at public functions and in public documents, following is the testimony on behalf of such an amendment I submitted to the which committee: CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO RESTORE PRAYER PUBLIC TO SCHOOLS first say how I am that this Committee pleased has broken the logjam and opened hearings on amendments to return prayer and bible reading to our public schools and other public and governmental functions. It is a sad commentary on Congressional responsiveness to deep public concern that these are the first committee hearings to be scheduled on prayer amendments since 1966 on the Senate side and 1964 on the House side. Every action taken on this important question in recent years has been directly on the Floor of both Chambers, and it is highly national indicative of continued concern that such action was taken at all in the absence of' prior Mr. Chairman, may I HON C W BILL YOUNG During the 92nd Congress, I was proud to sign the Discharge Petition which brought H.J. Res. 9 directly to the Floor for a vote. H.J. Res. 193, which I had introduced, was identical with this resolution, which proposed a 1 Constitutional amendment controversies over infringements of Amendment were not centered around devotional exercises as n Best Hedge Against Inflation 1J88V We deal, in Gold & Silver coins in j quantity. Silver Dollars are my specialty. U.S. SILVER DIMES, QUARTERS, HALVES $1,985.00 $1,000.00 face value $600.00 face value $290.00 face value ; $ 550.00 U.S, SILVER DOLLARS Uncirculated Bags (1,000 coins) Circulated Bags (1,000 coins) Uncirculated Rolls (20 coins) Circulated Rolls (20 coins) U. S. Gold Also Available qn Request Prices are subject to change Phone (303) 247-568- 1 ed possible the First COINS . nonsectarian, nondenominational permitting biblical and prayers reading in public schools, institutions, or other places, so long as participation was on a voluntary basis. The resolution, which I have reintroduced in the 93rd Congress as H.J. Res. 125, also permitted references to or invocations of the aid of God or a Supreme Being in or public any governmental document, proceeding, activity, ceremony, school, or institution, as well as upon any coinage, currency, or obligation of the United States. Mr. Chairman, our pledge of allegiance says that we are one Nation, under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for All." Throughout our darkest days, belief in the Supreme Bding has carried this Nation It has through to- victory. national our permeated pride and consciousness with a belief in ourselves, our goals, and our future. It has seen spontaneous expression in public life ranging ' from the daily opening of House and Senate proceedings to the somber ceremonials of a Presidential funeral. It has been carried to the very frontiers of mankind-ou- r astronauts journeys into space. By whatever name we call Him, by whatever way we worship Him, God has been the wellspring of our national strength for almost 400 years. It is not surprising, then to find that the' use of prayers and Bible readings at the opening of the school day is a tradition stemming from the very beginning of our Republic. Documents dating back to the earliest colonial times confirm the importance of prayer in the educational process. After the Revolution, the new States uniformly continued these practices in the private and public grammar schools. Public schools of all the States retained and relied upon the exercises morning ' devotional nineteenth and well the throughout into the twentieth century. The long-establish- without-notice- .. " $4,500.00 $ 130.00 $ 92.50 . for current quotes ROUSH RARE COINS 1050 Main Avenue ' Durango, Colorado 81301 1973 The UTAH Independent .Page 11 Keep Your Guns! , 1 GOLD & SILVER . such, but principally about the elimination of plainly sectarian practices and textbooks, and led to the eventual substitution of 11, though still religious, exercises and materials. Nonsectarian of expressions religious belief in our schools and public life are not, as some would claim, an infringement on the First Amendment. They are a voluntary affirmation of the. fundamental tenet of our national pledge and our national heritagethat we are, indeed, one Nation under God. The willingness of educators as well as the general public to encourage such expressions of belief reveals their understanding that daily religious exercises in schools serve very broad goals-bett- er discipline in the classroom, elevation of the level on which the school day opens, affirmation of the moral values of the community, and fostering a sense of unity and harmony. These are the same goals for which we strive in all our public activities as a Nation, and any element which impels us toward these goals should be given its proper place of consideration. The framers of the Constitution did a masterful job in creating a flexible instrument of law and government which has served us for almost two hundred years. I beiieve that the 1962 and 1963, decisions by the Supreme Court which effectively outlawed prayer in schools and left a whole range of public and governmental functions open to the same threat are a of the First misinterpretation Amendment. But if the Courts remain adamant on this point, then the Congress must carry out the will of the people and change the law itself. The First Ten Amendments to the Constitution, added immediately after its adoption, constitute a massive effort to delineate those Continued on page 12 A the criminal. citizens . are terrorized by crime and lawlessness. They National .Advisory Law-abidi- on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals, after spending 2 years and Commission want anti-gu- er and virtually no crime. A British inspector, . Elliot L. l Richardson, who praised the study as perhaps the most important report on crime ever compiled in this country. Most of the findings, however, have Attorney-Genera- been parroted before by various Federal Commissions and Humanitarian recent Foundations in Commissions most The amazing was to years. confiscate suggestion outlaw and hand guns, all except for' law enforcement and military officers. The Report said that the violence, fear, suffering and loss caused by hand guns must be stopped and urged states to implement this recommendation to disarm law-abidi- ng of all kinds, though this sort of information is almost impossible to get. The annual FBI report on the status of crime in the U.S. showed that serious crime dropped in 1972 for the first time in 17 years, but that when compared to the crime rate of 10 years ago, todays crime rate is appalling: murders have more tripled and robberies have more than tripled. The permissive element of our society has helped to create conditions conducive to law enforcement which favors Available Mon. Sat. Wholesale prices. than doubled, aggravated assaults have doubled, rapes have almost citizens 1983, thus in pt lice lecturer and weapons - breakdown armed writer, Colin Greenwood, says that rigid gun laws dont work; guns are just a symptom . . .what counts is the - level of crime with January moving us down the road to a police sta te. The national sense- of fear comes not from gun ownership, but from a by n has total availability of guns far-reachi- ng Constitutionally requestionable commendations to of enforcement existing laws, not legislation. In France, where gun controls are very strong, there is a very high rate of armed crime. Switzerland nearly $2 million, has issued a report very pleasing to the Liberal reformers. The Commission, former governors, including state and local police officers and judges, made a and number of 22-memb- ng 530 West 3900 South Salt Lake City through lenient treatment of criminals. crime Until this is corrected, citizens must retain their hand guns to protect their homes and law-abidi- ng families. Cong. John R. Rarick Lousiana Snow White Eggs |