Thursday, 4 December 2008
Don't These People Have Anything Better To Do
« Brother Can You Spare A Dime | Main | The Good, The Bad, and The Clueless »Personally, I think these atheists are a bit short sighted. I know they don't believe in a God, but what if one does exists? Wouldn't we be better off asking that deity for help in securing our society and being thankful for its help? I would think we could use all of the help we can get in defending ourself from terrorists.An atheists-rights group is suing the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security because state law requires the agency to stress “dependence on Almighty God as being vital to the security of the Commonwealth.”
American Atheists of Parsippany, N.J., and 10 non-religious Kentuckians are the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, set to be filed Tuesday in Franklin Circuit Court...
...The requirement to credit God for Kentucky’s protection was tucked into 2006 homeland security legislation by state Rep. Tom Riner, D-Louisville, a Southern Baptist minister.
“This is recognition that government alone cannot guarantee the perfect safety of the people of Kentucky,” Riner said last week.
Riner said he expects Homeland Security to include language recognizing God’s benevolent protection in its official reports and other materials – sometimes the agency does, and sometimes it doesn’t – and to maintain a plaque with that message at the state’s Emergency Operations Center in Frankfort.
I also think they don't have a lot of standing on this lawsuit. Asking and recognizing God's help in protecting us doesn't sound like a state run religion. In fact I don't see it as all that different from having "In God We Trust" on our money. Aside from the religious vs government aspect of this case, I was really galled to learn the real reason for the lawsuit.
Yup, that's right. They want free money. I am sure these people are "losing sleep" over this law. What kind of loser do you have to be to have trouble sleeping over this legislation. I don't agree with a lot that government does. Heck I am concerned about a number of people who are running this country, but I don't have trouble sleeping because of it. These people really need to find something do with their time rather than sitting around wallowing in victimization. I understand playing the victim is a favorite liberal past time, but these people really need to move past it and get on with their lives.The plaintiffs ask for the homeland security law to be stripped of its references to God. They also ask for monetary damages, claiming to have suffered sleeping disorders and “mental pain and anguish.”
“Plaintiffs also suffer anxiety from the belief that the existence of these unconstitutional laws suggest that their very safety as residents of Kentucky may be in the hands of fanatics, traitors or fools,” according to the suit.
To follow up on the money issue, a representative from American Atheists was on the news last night, and stated that the damages clause was in the suit for good reason. Under current law you have to specify damages in a lawsuit related to the separation of church and state, else the case would be thrown out.
Their communication director explicitly states that they're not in it for the money. Here's the video:
http://vimeo.com/2432831
Kentucky has been doing pretty well protecting its interests from terrorists for the last 214 years without paying lip service to a deity.
I'm a strong advocate of the principle of separation of church and state, and this exactly the kind of involvement the first amendment of the constitution is supposed to prevent. Why does the government have to ask for God's protection? If God is omnipotent and all knowing, it should make no difference if the individual asks for protection in prayer rather than with governmental involvement.
From the text of the bill:
I'm definitely not a lawyer, but when you assert that the members of a state have to acknowledge that their safety relies upon an Almighty God, that sounds like a pretty clear case of an establishment of religion. Though I wouldn't bet the farm on it, I expect Kentucky to lose this one.
Although, I do find the punitive damages of the suit a bit flagrant, and I wish they hadn't have gone that far. Hopefully a non-monetary settlement can be reached out of court without needing a costly and drawn out trial.