H.R. 2679 passed in the house  on September 27th, 2006 by a vote of 244 to 173.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_Restoration_Act and http://www.civilrights.org/issues/enforcement/details.cfm?id=47335 for more information about the bill.

ABOUT THIS BILL:

The full name of this Bill is H.R. 2679 (House) and S. 3696 (Senate) and called PERA for short, is: “Veterans' Memorials, Boy Scouts, Public Seals, and Other Public

Expressions of Religion Protection Act of 2006.”

Despite its name, H.R. 2679, and its US Senate equivalent (S. 3696) do NOT protect Public Expression of Religion! As stated by Rep. Nadler (D) in the transcript of the most recent hearing on this bill: "This bill is aimed at people who have proved in court that the government has violated their constitutional rights. By denying them the normal relief of monetary damages and the normal ability to petition for attorney's fees, we would not just deny them their day in court, but we would be telling government officials everywhere that Congress thinks it is okay to violate people's religious liberty with impunity."

In regards to this bill, Dennis James Kennedy had this to say: (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Kennedy_(televangelist)#Criticism_and_controversy)

"Our job is to reclaim America for Christ, whatever the cost. As the vice regents of God, we are to exercise godly dominion and influence over our neighborhoods, our schools, our government, our literature and arts, our sports arenas, our entertainment media, our news media, our scientific endeavors -- in short, over every aspect and institution of human society."

I can't believe that there is a House Measure that is actually called "Public Expression of Religion Act" when it CLEARLY means the expression of a Christian Religion ONLY! Since anyone who would have filed a lawsuit for infringement of freedom of religion will, if this law passes, most likely not be able to since they would have to pay their own attorney fees, there is no possible remuneration and most people who file these types of suits, cannot afford these fees (I know I wouldn't be able to. Any rich pagans out there? Anyone who could afford thousands of dollars in attorney fees to uphold their constitutional rights?) Personally, I think this is a "shove the problem under the rug and it will go away" mentality. (If we can get them to stop suing us, then they will go away... but it doesn't make the religious discrimination problem disappear!)

What happened to the separation of church and state? Since when can lawmakers tell the citizens of this country what religion to practice?  What happened to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution which is part of the US Bill of Rights and says: (From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment)

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is a part of the United States Bill of Rights. Textually, it prohibits the federal legislature from making laws that:

Establish a state religion or prefer certain religion (the "Establishment Clause");

Prohibit free exercise of religion (the "Free Exercise Clause");

Infringe the freedom of speech;

Infringe the freedom of the press;

Limit the right to assemble peaceably;

Limit the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

The First Amendment only explicitly disallows any of the rights from being abridged by laws made by Congress, but as the first sentence in the body of the Constitution reserves all law-making ("legislative") authority to Congress, the courts have held that this extends to the executive and judicial branches. Additionally, in the 20th century the Supreme Court has held that the Due Process clause of the 1868 Fourteenth Amendment "incorporates" the limitations of the First Amendment to also restrict the states.

The original text of the Constitution generated some opposition on the ground that it did not include adequate guarantees of civil liberties. In response, the First Amendment, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights, was adopted. The process of adoption by ratifications by the requisite number of states was completed in December 15, 1791.

The text of the amendment reads as follows:

    Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.    

IT'S NOT TOO LATE:

The bill is still in the Senate as S. 3696.

I am off to write my Senators . . . Here's how you can do the same:

TAKE ACTION

- If you call or write you must use the actual bill name which is "Public expression of religion act" commonly referred to as PERA.

- CALL or FAX the office of your US Senators right away. And urge her/him to VOTE NO and to DEFEAT this Bill (S. 3696)

- To get contact information for your Senators, do the following:

Go to http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?State=CA and email, call and/or fax your thoughts on this matter to them.

- There is no time for snail mail.

- NOTE* Phone calls, phone messages, and faxes receive more attention and have more impact than emails.

SPREAD THE WORD

Forward this link widely to lists, websites, blogs, and others that may be able to help. A tiny URL has been created to make this easier. Use this url in your posts and correspondences:
http://tinyurl.com/h4z4k

Information & Sources:
http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/0907-01.htm
http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/printers/109th/28385.pdf
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/in08_hostettler/09262006pera.html
http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/stern062206.pdf
http://www.house.gov/list/press/pa09_shuster/religiousfreevalues.html

(PERONAL NOTE: The US was NOT founded on Christian values... http://www.au.org/site/PageServer?pagename=resources_brochure_christiannation and http://www.answers.com/topic/christian-right)