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Texas Judge Dismisses Parents Claim |
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Christian Web News - A federal judge dismisses the claims of a parent who wanted to remove the words "under God" from the pledge of allegiance recited each morning by public schoolchildren in Texas.
U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade ruled Thursday that the state pledge will continue to reference God because the national pledge and four other states reference God or divine grace in their pledge, according to The Dallas Morning News. "A voluntary recitation of the Texas Pledge of Allegiance simply does not coerce students in the same way a school-sponsored prayer might," Kinkeade wrote in his opinion. David Croft argued that the words were unconstitutional and amounted to a violation of separation of church and state. He and his wife, Shannon, sued on behalf of their three children who are students at the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District. Previously, the Crofts unsuccessfully sued after an elementary teacher told one of their children to keep quiet because a minute for silence after the pledge was a "time for prayer." A provision that took effect September 2003 changed the way schools start their days in Texas. Children are now allowed to "reflect, pray, meditate or engage in any other silent activities" for one minute after the state and national pledges of allegiance have been recited.
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