Mississippi May Mandate Ten Commandments and Pledges to State, U.S. Flags in Schools

[Somerville]

This seems to be not only a violation of free speech but also freedom of religion. The SCOTUS has ruled several times on similar laws and has always found them to be un-Constitutional.

The pledge of allegiance to the national flag is probably the least controversial aspect of the proposed law but the parts requiring teachers and student to recite before their class the Ten Commandments and the pledge to the state flag pose a few problems.

Many in Mississippi have been trying for some time to change the state flag but so far -- no luck.
You can see why pledging allegiance to this flag might be an issue for many Mississippians.

Mississippi May Mandate Ten Commandments and Pledges to State, U.S. Flags in Schools

JACKSON — Mississippi law would require schoolchildren to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and see the Ten Commandments be displayed on public-school walls under new bills in the Legislature this session, requirements that may violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. One would also require Mississippi teachers to teach Mississippi's pledge glorifying the state flag, which contains the Confederate battle emblem in its canton.

#State Rep. Credell Calhoun, D-Jackson, introduced House Bill 427, which would amend the Mississippi Constitution to mandate that public-school teachers and principals must display the Ten Commandments. It would require that school officials display the religious laws "on an appropriately framed background with minimum dimensions" of 11x14 inches in all classrooms, auditoriums, and cafeterias, alongside the motto, "In God We Trust."

#Students would have to recite all 10 commandments within the first hour of class each morning. Any teacher or student who objects to reciting it would be excused "without penalty" from reciting the pledge.

Yeah, that "without penalty" part would work really well :roll:

 

[beefheart]

This seems to be not only a violation of free speech but also freedom of religion. The SCOTUS has ruled several times on similar laws and has always found them to be un-Constitutional.

The pledge of allegiance to the national flag is probably the least controversial aspect of the proposed law but the parts requiring teachers and student to recite before their class the Ten Commandments and the pledge to the state flag pose a few problems.

Many in Mississippi have been trying for some time to change the state flag but so far -- no luck.
View attachment 67248415 You can see why pledging allegiance to this flag might be an issue for many Mississippians.


Yeah, that "without penalty" part would work really well :roll:

They can mandate it all they want, they won't win.

Funny, they are so godly, yet their state is a craphole.....where is your god?

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

This seems to be not only a violation of free speech but also freedom of religion. The SCOTUS has ruled several times on similar laws and has always found them to be un-Constitutional.

The pledge of allegiance to the national flag is probably the least controversial aspect of the proposed law but the parts requiring teachers and student to recite before their class the Ten Commandments and the pledge to the state flag pose a few problems.

Many in Mississippi have been trying for some time to change the state flag but so far -- no luck.
View attachment 67248415 You can see why pledging allegiance to this flag might be an issue for many Mississippians.


Yeah, that "without penalty" part would work really well :roll:

So okay, the United States has TWO theocratic fundamentalist empires now, Utah and Ole Miss.

 

[JasperL]

This seems to be not only a violation of free speech but also freedom of religion. The SCOTUS has ruled several times on similar laws and has always found them to be un-Constitutional.

The pledge of allegiance to the national flag is probably the least controversial aspect of the proposed law but the parts requiring teachers and student to recite before their class the Ten Commandments and the pledge to the state flag pose a few problems.

Many in Mississippi have been trying for some time to change the state flag but so far -- no luck.
View attachment 67248415 You can see why pledging allegiance to this flag might be an issue for many Mississippians.

Yeah, that "without penalty" part would work really well :roll:

I suspect this is just posturing. We have the same thing happen in our legislature every year. Whackadoodles propose bills for all manner of complete nonsense, issue a press release, put it on their website, file it away for the next election "I STOOD FOR THE 10 COMMANDMENTS, PRAYER IN SCHOOLS!!" etc. and the legislation dies a peaceful, ignored death in committee.

 

[Beaudreaux]

Let's see if the bill actually passes the MS House first, before we get all bent out of shape. Even if it does, it will have to pass the MS Senate, and then get signed by the Governor, and of course be successful in the court challenge that will surely follow.

So far, one guy has introduced a bill in the state House. Not exactly enough for us to get all sweaty and angry about. There are state legislators in every state that introduce legislation that is ill conceived and/or unConstitutional, all the time. This is no exception.

If by some fate the bill passes out of both chambers of the legislature and is signed into law, then I am sure it will immediately be taken to court where a federal judge will issue a stay on its enforcement, and eventually (and probably quickly) be found in conflict with the US Constitution, federal court precedent, and federal case law.

In the mean time, if it helps to show hate toward an entire state and devout religious people as a whole, then by all means - continue.

 

[Grand Mal]

This seems to be not only a violation of free speech but also freedom of religion. The SCOTUS has ruled several times on similar laws and has always found them to be un-Constitutional.

The pledge of allegiance to the national flag is probably the least controversial aspect of the proposed law but the parts requiring teachers and student to recite before their class the Ten Commandments and the pledge to the state flag pose a few problems.

Many in Mississippi have been trying for some time to change the state flag but so far -- no luck.
View attachment 67248415 You can see why pledging allegiance to this flag might be an issue for many Mississippians.


Yeah, that "without penalty" part would work really well :roll:

Pledge allegiance to a State flag? Children?
FFS. What a bizarre nazified concept.

 

[Hawkeye10]

This seems to be not only a violation of free speech but also freedom of religion. The SCOTUS has ruled several times on similar laws and has always found them to be un-Constitutional.

The pledge of allegiance to the national flag is probably the least controversial aspect of the proposed law but the parts requiring teachers and student to recite before their class the Ten Commandments and the pledge to the state flag pose a few problems.

Many in Mississippi have been trying for some time to change the state flag but so far -- no luck.
View attachment 67248415 You can see why pledging allegiance to this flag might be an issue for many Mississippians.


Yeah, that "without penalty" part would work really well :roll:

The country was founded in 1776 yet here we are in 2019 with such a basic idea as this getting a "Well, it might be legal but maybe not, nobody knows because they system has not managed to get that far in deciding" is disgusting.

 

[JasperL]

The country was founded in 1776 yet here we are in 2019 with such a basic idea as this getting a "Well, it might be legal but maybe not, nobody knows because they system has not managed to get that far in deciding" is disgusting.

This is a bad hill to die on because the courts have consistently held that these kinds of requirements in public schools are most definitely unconstitutional. The article points this out, actually. citing USSC cases in 1980 for the 10 Commandments, and 1946 on the pledge of allegiance. So your worries were all but put to bed decades ago. What a relief!

 

[Risky Thicket]

This seems to be not only a violation of free speech but also freedom of religion. The SCOTUS has ruled several times on similar laws and has always found them to be un-Constitutional.

The pledge of allegiance to the national flag is probably the least controversial aspect of the proposed law but the parts requiring teachers and student to recite before their class the Ten Commandments and the pledge to the state flag pose a few problems.

Many in Mississippi have been trying for some time to change the state flag but so far -- no luck.
View attachment 67248415 You can see why pledging allegiance to this flag might be an issue for many Mississippians.


Yeah, that "without penalty" part would work really well :roll:

It's part of the national religious extremists' plan called Project Blitz.

No, it isn't a conspiracy theory and it isn't coincidence. Dominionists have been hard at work to incrementally push their religion into government. It didn't start in Mississippi. Of course it started in the Bible Belt. Efforts similar to the brazen step being attempted in Mississippi have already made headway in Arizona, Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Tennessee. Watch for it to spread across the mid-west.

 

[Hawkeye10]

This is a bad hill to die on because the courts have consistently held that these kinds of requirements in public schools are most definitely unconstitutional. The article points this out, actually. citing USSC cases in 1980 for the 10 Commandments, and 1946 on the pledge of allegiance. So your worries were all but put to bed decades ago. What a relief!

So then how does this story run do you think.....are these people too dim to know that the proposals are illegal....or do they rather not care? It could be that they dont care, I watched Seattle pass a law that they knew the courts would strike...they decided that they had to "do something".

 

[JasperL]

So then how does this story run do you think.....are these people too dim to know that the proposals are illegal....or do they rather not care? It could be that they dont care, I watched Seattle pass a law that they knew the courts would strike...they decided that they had to "do something".

As I said in another post, they very likely know it's not legal, and don't even expect or care if it gets signed into law. They've made their statement - they stand with the 10 commandments and the pledge of allegiance! America! That's all there is.

In Tennessee this kind of thing is as predictable as the spring. Guys with nothing better to do with their time in the legislature sitting on a back bench propose a bunch of stupid crap, send out a press release, hope the stories run locally at least, and that's the end of the legislation.

 

[Hawkeye10]

As I said in another post, they very likely know it's not legal, and don't even expect or care if it gets signed into law. They've made their statement - they stand with the 10 commandments and the pledge of allegiance! America! That's all there is.

In Tennessee this kind of thing is as predictable as the spring. Guys with nothing better to do with their time in the legislature sitting on a back bench propose a bunch of stupid crap, send out a press release, hope the stories run locally at least, and that's the end of the legislation.

Kinda like how the R House I think it was when Obama was POTUS spent hundreds upon hundreds of hours working on legislation that they knew 100% was not going anywhere, because of the desperate need to do something about ObamaCare.

As if wasting time helped with that.

 

[AGENT J]

This seems to be not only a violation of free speech but also freedom of religion. The SCOTUS has ruled several times on similar laws and has always found them to be un-Constitutional.

The pledge of allegiance to the national flag is probably the least controversial aspect of the proposed law but the parts requiring teachers and student to recite before their class the Ten Commandments and the pledge to the state flag pose a few problems.

Many in Mississippi have been trying for some time to change the state flag but so far -- no luck.
View attachment 67248415 You can see why pledging allegiance to this flag might be an issue for many Mississippians.


Yeah, that "without penalty" part would work really well :roll:

It makes me so sad that nutcases waste the peoples time and money on stuff like this . . .
its way to common that this stuff is tried knowing it will just fail . .

anyway this will never survive just another waste and show by nutters

 

[Somerville]

Let's see if the bill actually passes the MS House first, before we get all bent out of shape. Even if it does, it will have to pass the MS Senate, and then get signed by the Governor, and of course be successful in the court challenge that will surely follow.

So far, one guy has introduced a bill in the state House. Not exactly enough for us to get all sweaty and angry about. There are state legislators in every state that introduce legislation that is ill conceived and/or unConstitutional, all the time. This is no exception.

If by some fate the bill passes out of both chambers of the legislature and is signed into law, then I am sure it will immediately be taken to court where a federal judge will issue a stay on its enforcement, and eventually (and probably quickly) be found in conflict with the US Constitution, federal court precedent, and federal case law.

In the mean time, if it helps to show hate toward an entire state and devout religious people as a whole, then by all means - continue.

If you had read past the first couple paragraphs, you might have found the following

Republican Bill Goes Further

#While Calhoun's bill does not suggest a fine for non-compliance, another a bill authored by State Rep. William Shirley, R-Quitman, would impose a fine.

#Shirley's bill, House Bill 172, would impose $1,500 fines on schools for instances in which they do not require teachers to have their classrooms recite the Pledge of Allegiance within the first hour of class.

True it doesn't bring in the Ten Commandments portion of Rep. Calhoun's bill but the penalty fine does appear to violate the free speech clause in the Constitution

Please explain how my words have shown hatred toward "devout religious people as a whole"? By posting such words, Beaudreaux, appear to be claiming that you only see certain segments of the American citizenry as "devout religious people"

 

[Somerville]

Some who call Mississippi home are trying to move the state into the 21st Century

A new Mississippi flag has a surprising champion: A segregationist’s grandchild

 

[WeirdoJoker]

"If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion, or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein." West Virginia v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624, 642 (1943).

 

[Beaudreaux]

If you had read past the first couple paragraphs, you might have found the following
True it doesn't bring in the Ten Commandments portion of Rep. Calhoun's bill but the penalty fine does appear to violate the free speech clause in the Constitution

Please explain how my words have shown hatred toward "devout religious people as a whole"? By posting such words, Beaudreaux, appear to be claiming that you only see certain segments of the American citizenry as "devout religious people"

Sorry if you thought I was referring to you. I purposefully didn't quote anyone. My animus was based on numerous other threads and posts by numerous other members here that seem to find posting anti-religious bigotry, against religious people and their bigotry based on their religious beliefs (therein lies the irony).

I would hope that if you had any questions about my personal feelings or beliefs dealing with religion, especially if you want to make comments about what you think I may or may not feel or believe, then please ask rather than making assumptions that are negative toward me.

As to this particular action by this particular MS state legislator, I made my opinion clear (I thought) that it was ill conceived and unConstitutional, and that a court challenge would surely be successful that would surely follow the passing of the law (if that even happened, which I don't think it will).

 

[Beaudreaux]

Some who call Mississippi home are trying to move the state into the 21st Century

A new Mississippi flag has a surprising champion: A segregationist’s grandchild

I hope they are successful.