987 Bills and Resolutions Carried Into 2010
from 2009 Session

Radio Commentary, WMVV 90.7 New Life FM, January 15, 2010
By Sue Ella Deadwyler

Good morning, Jim. Last session, 3,036 bills and resolutions were introduced and 2,022 passed. Only 8 lost, leaving 987 to die in committee or for handling this year. One leftover bill is H.B. 33 that I told you about a year ago. It’s Representative Rice’s “Religious Viewpoints Anti-discrimination Act” that would require school systems to protect students’ right to religious expression.

This bill should not be necessary, but schools consistently censor Christian religious expression, whether spoken or written, and if parents file suit, courts rule against students’ rights. Last November the U.S. Supreme Court upheld such censoring when the justices refused to hear a 2006 case against Foothill High School officials. They had deleted Bible references, references to “the Lord” and her mention of “Christ” from valedictorian Brittany McComb’s draft of her graduation speech. Then, when she tried to give her original speech at graduation, officials unplugged her microphone. The audience booed the officials, but Brittany could not continue.

In July 2006, the Rutherford Institute filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the Foothill school officials in which Nevada’s U.S. District Court upheld Brittany’s rights, ruling in her favor. But when school officials appealed, the Appellate Court reversed the lower court’s decision, ruling that Brittany was “proselytizing” and had no right to give her speech.

Currently, Rutherford has two such cases under appeal to the Supreme Court. In one, the lower court said public school students cannot perform Christian music at graduation, even without spoken words or printed lyrics. The other case defends a Christian mother who was not allowed to read a passage from the Psalms to her child in kindergarten, though other parents could read whatever they chose.

H.B. 33 is in the House Judiciary Committee, where it has been held for a year. Call the chairman at 404 656-5125* and ask him to have his members debate and pass H.B. 33 out of committee. We still live in the United States. The Constitution is still our founding document. Freedoms of speech and religion have not been repealed in the United States or in Georgia, but they are, certainly, being unconstitutionally suppressed. H.B. 33 needs to be passed and enforced NOW! For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.