State of Illinois Law: Pledge of Allegiance The Pledge of Allegiance shall be recited each school day by pupils in elementary and secondary educational institutions supported or maintained in whole or in part by public funds. (105 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/27-3 (2005) The statute says each student must recite the Pledge each day - with no exception for those who do not wish to do so. However, in a federal lawsuit that was filed, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the statute did not violate the students rights, so long as students were free not to participate in the recitation of the Pledge. Sherman v. Community Consol. School Dist. 21 of Wheeling Tp., 980 F.2d 437 (7th Cir. 1992). SHERMAN V. COMMUNITY CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT 21 OF WHEELING TOWNSHIP 980 F.2d 437 (7th Cir. 1992) No. 91-1684. United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit. Argued Jan. 24, 1992. Decided Nov. 20, 1992. The Illinois Law on Pledge of Allegiance and the Violation by Chicago Academy A Student was told that his class would not do The Pledge of Allegiance anymore and in fact the entire school does not in result violating the State of Illinois Law and depriving the students from upholding their 1st amendment right to participate in the pledge because the school said “they do not have enough time.” This is a clear violation of state law which declared The Pledge of Allegiance shall be recited each school day by pupils in elementary and secondary educational institutions supported or maintained in whole or in part by public funds. 105 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/27-3 (2005). Although a federal lawsuit that was filed, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the statute did not violate the students rights, so long as students were free not to participate in the recitation of the Pledge. Sherman v. Community Consol. School Dist. 21 of Wheeling Tp., 980 F.2d 437 (7th Cir. 1992). Therefore the pledge must be recited daily with the exception for a student who refuses to recite the pledge or even a teacher can refuse but regardless due to the federal funding each class still must take part in the pledge with exceptions only for certain and not all people. This means the pledge of Allegiance cannot be removed from the classroom by the teacher and certainly not by an entire school based on the judgment of school officials who say they “do not have enough time.” This blatant disregard for Illinois law and the students who are being deprived of a historic pledge which is a reminder to all about the foundation of the United States and the ideals which have made our nation a global leader deriving from our founding fathers ideals which established this nation. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution does not forbid voluntary recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, regardless of whether it is by a student, government employee, or private citizen. While no person may be forced to recite the Pledge or other statements against his or her will, not allowing such recitations to occur not only violates Illinois law but raise many First Amendment and Bill of Rights concerns as well. All states except five Hawaii, Iowa, Oklahoma, Vermont and Wyoming give time for the pledge to be recited as part of the school day. Neither Chicago Academy nor Illinois is on this list and in result Chicago Academy must follow the law and start reciting the Pledge of Allegiance on a daily basis immediately. Mission Statement Uphold the Duty of Citizenship and Protest Violations against Illinois law and protect the student’s constitutional rights deprived by Chicago Academy. The story has been shared with many former military members of different branches and activists who are 1st Amendment Supporters to help promote this injustice. The main media outlets we have been in communication with consist of Fox News, Infowars, Change.org, Drudge report, and we will seek many other outlets in the press and media. We plan to protest until there is action by the school or we will seek the legal system as the only other way in which we can assure that the violations stop and the law once again will be followed at Chicago Academy as it is by the rest of Illinois and most of the country. Goal of Movement Bring Enough Attention to this Injustice and have Chicago Academy follow the proper procedures listed in US Code: 4 USC § 4 - Pledge of allegiance to the flag; manner of delivery as follows. The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag: “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”, should be rendered by standing at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. When not in uniform men should remove any non-religious headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Persons in uniform should remain silent, face the flag, and render the military salute. Supreme Court Rulings and Constitutional Violations The 14th Amendment, this sentence had and continues to have long-lasting implications on the application of the Bill of Rights to the states: No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. In addition to the Supreme Court’s pronouncements, several federal appellate courts have held that teacher-led recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public school is constitutional. See Rio Linda, 597 F.3d 1007; Myers v. Loudoun County Pub. Schs., 418 F.3d 395 (4th Cir. 2005); Sherman v. Cmty. Consol. Sch. Dist. 21 of Wheeling Twp., 980 F.2d 437 (7th Cir. 1992), cert. denied, 508 U.S. 950 (1993). The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in a case in which the ACLJ submitted a key amicus curia brief, recently ruled directly that “the Pledge is constitutional.” Rio Linda, 597 F.3d at 1012. In review, while no one may be required to recite the Pledge if he or she objects to doing so, students have a right to recite the Pledge in public settings, including teacher-led recitations in public schools. Such displays of patriotism do not raise First Amendment concerns. The Pledge is a constitutionally permissible reference to this nation’s rich religious heritage. The First Amendment affords atheists complete freedom to disbelieve; it does not compel the government to censor the phrase “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance in order to suit atheistic tastes. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution does not forbid voluntary recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, regardless of whether it is by a student, government employee, or private citizen. Second, students in public schools are not stripped of rights. In Board v Barnette (319 US 624 [1943]), for example, the Supreme Court ruled that students could not be forced to recite the Pledge of Allegiance nor otherwise salute the flag against their will. In Tinker v Des Moines (393 US 503 [1969]), the Supreme Court ruled that students wearing black arm bands to protest the Vietnam War could not be forced to remove the arm bands by school officials. Article VI 2: This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding. 3: The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States. The Supreme Court has unequivocally recognized that “the Pledge of Allegiance evolved as a common public acknowledgement of the ideals that our flag symbolizes. Its recitation is a patriotic exercise designed to foster national unity and pride in those principles.” Elk Grove Unified Sch. Dist. v. Newdow, 542 U.S. 1, 6 (2004). Congress first approved the Pledge in 1942, and in 1954 it amended the Pledge to its current version by adding the words “under God.” As the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently noted, in upholding the constitutionality of the Pledge: The Pledge of Allegiance serves to unite our vast nation through the proud recitation of some of the ideals upon which our Republic was founded and for which we continue to strive: one Nation under God--the Founding Fathers belief that the people of this nation are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; indivisible--although we have individual states, they are united in one Republic; with liberty--the government cannot take away the peoples inalienable rights; and justice for all--everyone in America is entitled to equal justice under the law (as is inscribed above the main entrance to our Supreme Court). “Preamble” of the Declaration of Independence We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 11:11:29 +0000
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