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National Catholic Register: ‘God’ Is Alive (in the Pledge of Allegiance)

Media Contact

Ryan Colby 202-349-7219 media@becketlaw.org

Eric Rassbach, National Litigation Director at the Becket Fund, was recently interviewed by the National Catholic Register regarding a recent court decision to keep ‘ God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance. Here is an excerpt from the article:

WASHINGTON — God was put into the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954 at the urging of the Knights of Columbus. So when Michael Newdow sought Supreme Court standing to remove the Almighty, the Knights girded for legal battle — and won.

“We are very happy,” said Knights’ vice president Patrick Korten. “This is a victory for human rights.”

The Supreme Court decided June 13 simply not to consider an appeal by Newdow of a New Hampshire case he has argued in before the First Circuit Court of Appeals for parents objecting to their children being forced to witness classmates saying the pledge. The Knights decided to join in the case as a co-defendant.