American Atheists is a non-profit, non-political, educational organization dedi-
cated to the complete and absolute separation of state and church. It functions as a
watchdog organization to protect the civil libertarian rights of American Atheists
and to monitor federal, state, county and local governments in respect to breaches
in what Thomas Jefferson envisaged as "the wall of separation between state and
church," which he described the First Amendment as protecting.

The media has reported that the Constitution Subcommittee of the Judiciary
Committee of the Senate has just concluded the third day of hearings on a proposed
Bonstitutional Amendment which would permit "voluntary" prayer in the public
schools of our nation. This is a formal request that our organization should be one
those listed to be notified for input into such hearings in the future.
Since we were not apprised of the proposed hearings this letter is a statement
ghich we desire to have included in the official transcript. Also, we desire a copy
the transcript of the three day hearing. Please notify us of the cost of the same.
I am the founder of American Atheists and it was my family which was involved
the original court decisions, Murray v. Curlett and Abington Sch. Dist. v.
Schempp which removed bible reading/prayer recitation from the public schools in
Jane, 1963.

Individual, voluntary, prayer was not then, nor has it ever been prohibited in any
public school of our nation. Any child may, anywhere in school, at any time, bow
his/her head and pray. The fundamentalists of our nation, are not interested in such
free, individual, voluntary prayer. What they desire is government endorsed prayer,
administrated by and through the public schools, where attendance is mandatory
and the institutions are tax supported. This speaks to the failure of religions in the
United States to capture the young and, therefore, asking the government to assist
those religions by governmental fiat. Those in government who see religion as an
instrumentality of control look upon the proposition with favor. Indeed, New
Hampshire still carries this precept in its contitution: . morality and piety,
rightly grounded on evangelical principles, will give the best and greatest security
to government, and will lay, in the hearts of men, the strongest obligations to due
subjection."

As proponents of individual liberty, American Atheists cannot endorse the laying of an obligation to due subjection in the minds of children. Please put American Atheists, then, on record as being inalterably opposed to governmental administrated prayer in the public schools.

Farm Bureau woud like to take this opportunity to comment on the Constitutional Amendments dealing with school prayer which will come before your Committee for consideration in the near future.

The American Farm Bureau Federation is the nation's largest general farm organization with a membership of over 3 million families in 48 states and Puerto Rico. Policies of the American Farm Bureau Federation are determined annually after being studied, debated, and approved by a majority vote of its members, at county, state, and national Farm Bureau meetings. The issue before this Subcommittee is of great concern to Farm Bureau members, as expressed by current Farm Bureau policy.

At the 1983 annual meeting of the American Farm Bureau Federation, the voting delegates of member state Farm Bureaus adopted the following policy:

"...We believe it to be man's inalienable right
to worship God, offer prayers and read the Bible
as God's word in private and public places, including
schoolrooms.

"To perpetuate the principles on which this nation was founded, we support the necessary steps to reestablish the right to offer voluntary prayers in public schools."

We thank you for consideration of Farm Bureau's views.

cc: Members of the Committee

Sincerely,

Jach

Datt

John C. Datt, Secretary and
Director, Washington Office

THE AMERICAN LEGION 64th NATIONAL CONVENTION

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

AUGUST 24-26, 1982

RESOLUTION 330

COMMITTEE:

Americanism

SUBJECT: SCHOOL PRAYER

WHEREAS, the majority of Americans have historically believed in seeking God's protection and guidance through prayer, and

WHEREAS, the value of expressing spiritual convictions through public prayer has been recognized as a firm basis on which to conduct public proceedings, and

WHEREAS, Supreme Court decisions during the early 1960's have had the effect of severely restricting the practice of any manner of public prayer although these decisions simply addressed prescribed or compulsory prayer, and

WHEREAS, this restriction is most evident in our nation's public schools where a concurrent moral and spiritual decline is clearly manifested, now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, by The American Legion in National Convention assembled in Chicago, Illinois, August 24-26, 1982, that this organization urge the Congress of the United States to assume its responsibility in correcting the unnecessary problems created by court rulings which prohibited prescribed or compulsory prayer, and, be it further

RESOLVED, that we urge the Congress of the United States to express its majority belief in the value of voluntary prayer in public schools and at other public gatherings, and, be it further

RESOLVED, that Congress pass legislation to promote the concept of school prayer, including the approval of legislation to preempting federal courts from rendering decisions on prayer issues if such preemption is deemed necessary to insure that our nation's public school children have a daily opportunity to pray, and, be it finally

RESOLVED, that copies of this resolution be forwarded to the U.S. Senators and Representatives, the President of the U.S. Senate, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Chairmen of both the Senate and House Judiciary Committees, and the President of the United States.

I am writing to follow up on the recent hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee on school prayer in public schools.

Agudath Israel of America, founded in 1922, is the broadest-based Orthodox Jewish movement in the nation. Its leadership consists of the foremost deans of rabbinical seminaries in the country. It represents grassroots Orthodox Jews in 30 states and provides a broad gamut of services to the community.

As one of the chief legislative advocates for the Orthodox Jewish community, I am certain that you will be interested in our concerns about the various proposals now before the U.S. Senate on school prayer.

We have in the past opposed school prayer bills which would have deprived the United States Supreme Court and the United States District Courts of jurisdiction over any case involving a dispute arising out of a state statute relating to the recital of voluntary prayers in public schools and public buildings. While we are generally favorably disposed to the reinstatement of the recital of prayers in public schools, these bills would accomplish such a result in a way that threatens to undermine the finely tuned balance of power between the three branches of government.

The supremacy of the Supreme Court is the ultimate interpreter of the constitution as a long accepted principle of American law and should not be changed by legislation. The issue here should not be viewed as one of school prayer, but it is an attempt to weaken the authority of the highest court in the United States and the lower federal courts. Although we may at times take issue with some of the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court, we treasure its role in safeguarding civil liberties in this country.

We have viewed with extreme interest the proposal of the Administration. We strongly support the Administration's emphasis on the return to traditional values in the family, in the community and in society at large. Permitting prayer in schools is consistent with these values. However, the proposed constitutional amendment fails to define the type of "prayer" advocated, and this ambiguity could lead to unacceptable interpretations. We reserve judgment on this issue until the measure under consideration clearly spells out the form and text of the prayer to be recited in schools.

Thank you for this opportunity to make our views known.

Sincerely,

Monacken Livienaky

Rabbi Menachem Lubinsky

Director of Government and Public Affairs

ML:dl

Backgroundër

The Heritage Foundation 513 C Street, N. E. Washington, DC 20002 (202) 546-4400

September 2, 1977

THE FIRST AMENDMENT AND
FREEDOM OF SPEECH IN AMERICA

THE ISSUE

A problem of increasing concern in American society has
been that of the burgeoning production of pornographic materials
in the form of books, magazines, photographs, films, and motion
pictures. While this problem has in itself attracted consid-
erable attention, an even more notorious aspect of it has been
the use of children in pornography. Recent accounts and studies
by the police departments of various cities, by social workers
and psychiatrists, and by local leaders indicate that the abuse
of juveniles in the production of obscene materials is increasing.
Authorities estimate that pornography in the United States has
revenues of $1 billion a year and that child pornography ("kid-
porn") accounts for 10% of this. The Los Angeles Police Depart-
ment has conducted an extensive survey of this type of porno-
graphy and has concluded that 70% of the child pornography mar-
ket caters to homosexual depictions of boys, that 25,000 juveniles
under 17 are currently involved in this aspect of the trade
alone. In Mineola, New York, a pornographic ring was broken up
which was estimated to make $250,000 a year.

Many congressmen and senators have expressed concern over
the brutalizing effects of the production process on the children
who are forced, intimidated, or gulled into participating. This
aspect of the issue is not seriously in question; and, accordingly.
several bills have been introduced in both the House and Senate
to penalize the production of child pornography and to prevent
more effectively the abuse of juveniles in its production.

However, due to the well-attested difficulties of appre-
hending the producers, some legislators feel that a more strin-
gent approach is necessary. They point out, as have police of-
ficials, that pornographers are often transient and do not sign
their work. Much of the production is on a short-term basis
and occurs in private homes, motels, or abandoned locations.
Children are often not the most reliable witnesses and cannot
identify their victimizers; and the process of testifying may
be traumatic for them. Thus, the legislators believe the only
effective way to curb pornography, especially of this genre, is
at the level of distribution rather than at the level of produc-
tion. They advocate the punishment of the mailhouses and book-
sellers that sell child pornography.

This aspect of the proposed legislation is more contro-
versial. Critics charge that such provisions would be a viola-
tion of the First Amendment, particularly if passed by Congress.
The American Civil Liberties Union, for example, has supported

NOTE: Nothing written here is to be construed as necessarily reflecting
the views of The Heritage Foundation or as an attempt to aid or hinder the
passage of any bill before Congress.