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Keep Religion Free in Your Community

Target: United States Senate
Sponsored by: Defcon - Campaign to Defend the Constitution

The Establishment Clause in the Bill of Rights is supposed to keep our government from interfering with religion, guard against the states' use of religion for political purposes, and ensure that the government does not act in a way that prefers one religion over another, so that we may all worship freely.

But while the Establishment Clause protects our basic freedoms, it is not self-enforcing. If someone is forced to sue the government to protect their constitutional rights, justice and fairness dictate they be able to recover their legal fees expended to do so.

The Public Expression of Religion Act would prevent citizens from recovering their litigation costs if they sue to stop state-sponsored religion. This law is brazenly designed to make it next to impossible for private citizens to sue to protect their First Amendment rights because lawsuits are prohibitively expensive.

In other words, Congress and the Religious Right want to cement the establishment of their own religion as dominant via the force of the government, and the force of law.

Tell your Senators that religious freedom is more important than the agenda of the religious right!

deadline: 10-31-2006
goal: 20,000

13,554
signatures!

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I am writing to express my deep concern over the Public Expression of Religion Act (PERA) and to urge you to vote against this proposal should it come up for a vote.

Under the guise of "religious freedom," PERA seeks to undermine the Establishment Clause, weakening our nation's commitment to the separation of church and state and actually threatening the religious freedom of millions of Americans.

Currently, citizens who win lawsuits challenging infringements of the Establishment Clause - such as Ten Commandment displays on government property and prayer in public schools - are able to receive reimbursement for the legal fees they collect in the process. This ensures that all Americans are free to challenge legitimate threats to the freedoms promised in the Constitution - and that this fundamental right will be extended to all Americans, not just those with the financial means to fund a legal challenge.

By ending this reimbursement, PERA would deal a massive blow to our nation's enlightened commitment to the separation of church and state.

Please put the religious freedom of all Americans above the interests of the religious right, and vote NO on this proposal.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]

We signed the “Keep Religion Free in Your Community” petition!

# 13,500:

4:45 pm PDT, Apr 19, Melissa Bardwell, Washington

# 13,499:

11:48 pm PDT, Apr 18, Brian Null, Texas

# 13,498:

4:25 pm PDT, Apr 18, Mark Raven, Texas

# 13,497:

11:42 am PDT, Apr 18, Name not displayed, Maryland

# 13,496:

11:37 am PDT, Apr 17, Jessica Trevino, Texas

# 13,495:

3:32 pm PDT, Apr 15, Name not displayed, Massachusetts

# 13,494:

2:16 pm PDT, Apr 15, Ronald Holt, Illinois
This nation was founded on the principle of religious liberty and separation of church and state. Let us all work hard to keep it that way.

# 13,493:

7:57 am PDT, Apr 14, Nicky Elizabeth, Maine

# 13,492:

3:11 pm PDT, Apr 13, Marlee Watt, Arkansas

# 13,491:

8:27 pm PDT, Apr 12, Maggie Dorn, Michigan

# 13,490:

2:31 pm PDT, Apr 10, Cameron Fitch, South Carolina

# 13,489:

3:14 pm PDT, Apr 9, Joy Berstrom, North Carolina

# 13,488:

1:09 pm PDT, Apr 8, Cheyenne Marie, California

# 13,487:

8:34 am PDT, Apr 8, Scott Burbridge, Maryland

# 13,486:

12:12 pm PDT, Apr 5, Rebecca Hernandez, Kentucky

# 13,485:

8:38 am PDT, Apr 3, Loretta Bengivenga, Pennsylvania

# 13,484:

3:55 pm PDT, Apr 2, Jan Hale woodbury, tn, Tennessee

# 13,483:

11:30 pm PDT, Apr 1, Debra Brown, Pennsylvania

# 13,482:

8:52 pm PDT, Mar 29, Mary Flanagan, Washington
It's really quite simple - keep government/politics out of religion and keep religion out of politics/government - and that means ALL religion not just the born again Christians.

# 13,481:

2:05 pm PDT, Mar 29, Brandon Raich, California

# 13,480:

8:57 pm PDT, Mar 28, Jeanne Austin, Pennsylvania

# 13,479:

2:09 pm PDT, Mar 28, Diane Brown, Illinois
awesome rights and believe please send me some community or home base hand outs or getting started project

# 13,478:

10:17 am PDT, Mar 28, Melissa Brooks, Washington

# 13,477:

5:21 pm PDT, Mar 27, Jane Manning, South Carolina

# 13,476:

8:12 pm PDT, Mar 26, Deb Hamilton, Nevada

# 13,475:

12:10 am PDT, Mar 24, Ashley Hayes, Michigan

# 13,474:

10:08 am PDT, Mar 21, CHARLES BRIGGS III, Massachusetts

# 13,473:

9:02 am PDT, Mar 21, Kimberly Clark, North Carolina

# 13,472:

4:39 am PDT, Mar 21, Esther Howell, Florida
WE must stand together and see that our Religion is forever kept Free!!

# 13,471:

7:32 pm PDT, Mar 19, Heather Onnen, Kansas

# 13,470:

1:43 pm PDT, Mar 19, Patricia McCracken, California

# 13,469:

2:08 pm PDT, Mar 18, Nyla G. Buck, L.P.N., Montana
We need to keep our religious freedom.

# 13,468:

9:46 pm PDT, Mar 15, James Elkins, Georgia

# 13,467:

6:51 pm PDT, Mar 13, Nicholas McGill, Pennsylvania

# 13,466:

10:02 am PDT, Mar 13, Nancy Kilgore, Washington

# 13,465:

8:49 pm PDT, Mar 12, Melanie Sementilli, Texas

# 13,464:

1:39 pm PST, Mar 10, Name not displayed, Texas
When the Comptroller of the State of Texas reguires prior approval in order for employees to participate on the Board of a religious organization, I think we've lost our rights to religion. As it says in the first ammendment...the government shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Having to get prior approval prohibits my free exercise of religion, but I can't afford to lose my job. All Worship Susan Combs!

# 13,463:

12:27 pm PST, Mar 10, Lauren Bell, Georgia
i dont beleve in god but i beleve that people should have religios freedom.

# 13,462:

2:19 pm PST, Mar 7, Name not displayed, New Hampshire

# 13,461:

6:23 pm PST, Mar 6, Name not displayed, Washington

# 13,460:

7:02 am PST, Mar 6, Mchelle Gitlewski, Wisconsin
KEEP GOD IN OUR SCHOOLS AND OUR COUNTRY.....WITHOUT HIM WE SHALL PERISH! CHRISTIANITY TEACHES NOTHING BUT GOOD, OPEN YOUR EYES PEOPLE

# 13,459:

2:47 pm PST, Mar 5, Gretchen Brannon, Arkansas

# 13,458:

11:10 am PST, Mar 5, Sue Stroud-speyers, Vermont

# 13,457:

11:53 pm PST, Mar 4, Cathe Romano, California

# 13,456:

7:34 pm PST, Mar 4, Krystal Smith, Kentucky
Religion freedom is a right

# 13,455:

2:51 pm PST, Mar 4, Trina Huber, Texas

# 13,454:

9:41 am PST, Mar 4, Marlene Dragonlair, Florida

# 13,453:

6:42 am PST, Mar 4, Ariadna Gatys, Germany

# 13,452:

3:00 pm PST, Mar 3, Name not displayed, Oregon

# 13,451:

5:45 pm PST, Mar 2, Joshua Beckett, Ohio

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Keep Religion Free in Your Community

This petition has been closed.