Florida Amendment 8: Infusing Religion With Government

[cbayer]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/noah-fitzgerel/florida-amendment-8-infus_b_2059824.html

Noah FitzgerelSenior
Class President, Annandale High School
Posted: 11/01/2012 4:09 pm


Last summer, Amendment 2 passed with flying colors in Missouri, effectively reneging on the constitutional promise of maintaining the separation of religion and public school in that state. To this extent, it is important that Floridians remind the nation next week that the parameters set by scores of judicial interpretations and pieces of federal legislation regarding the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment are not only viable, but best for this nation's future.

Amendment 8 will be presented to Floridians in the voting booth due to the efforts of Attorney General Pam Bondi, who, after seeing an earlier version struck down by a county judge, proposed this new one. The measure blatantly slights the Constitution's First Amendment by redacting an important portion of the Blaine Amendment. As of present, Florida's Blaine Amendment serves as a state-level supplement to the U.S. Constitution's Establishment Clause.

It reads:

"There shall be no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting or penalizing the free exercise thereof. Religious freedom shall not justify practices inconsistent with public morals, peace or safety. No revenue of the state or any political subdivision or agency thereof shall ever be taken from the public treasury directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution."

If passed, Amendment 8 will rid Florida's state constitution of the last sentence of the Blaine Amendment, and add, "No individual or entity may be discriminated against or barred from receiving funding on the basis of religious identity."

more at link

[okwmember]

1. The jackass Repugs in the FL legislature have tried for years to

to legislate the Blaine Amendment away. Needless to say they've lost in court everytime. They finally
realized the only way to get around it was to change the state constitution. They need it gone so they
can funnel public education dollars to private religious schools as part of their idiotic school choice program.
The good news is so far its polling at less than 50% and to change the state constitution it has to pass
with 2/3 majority.

Reminder FL vote NO on all the amendments!

[cbayer]

2. Thanks for the information and very good news about the polling.

[glowing]

3. Normally, these amendments are thrown off by

The Supreme Court in FL. Don't know what happened this time around?