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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!

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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!

# 13,569:

9:50 pm PDT, Apr 21, Farah Frazee, Michigan

# 13,568:

1:43 am PDT, Apr 19, Can Atik, Turkey

# 13,567:

2:11 pm PDT, Mar 30, Silky Wyld, Wisconsin

# 13,566:

3:06 am PDT, Mar 28, Peter Nielsen, Denmark
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=7d9_1206624103

# 13,565:

12:52 pm PDT, Mar 26, Chris Anas, California

# 13,564:

11:18 am PDT, Mar 23, Suzie Gordon, New Hampshire

# 13,563:

2:22 am PDT, Mar 22, Art Deco, Maine

# 13,562:

10:41 am PDT, Mar 21, Ginger Geronimo, Alabama

# 13,561:

4:59 am PDT, Mar 19, Name not displayed, Wisconsin

# 13,560:

2:28 am PDT, Mar 19, BiLL Fowlie, Maine

# 13,559:

10:45 pm PDT, Mar 18, Roxie Schliesmann, Wisconsin

# 13,558:

12:52 am PDT, Mar 15, Shannon Sultan, Wisconsin

# 13,557:

4:46 am PST, Feb 20, Amber Adkins, Maryland

# 13,556:

5:49 pm PST, Feb 17, Laura Zanoli, Italy

# 13,555:

7:12 pm PST, Feb 16, Eric Bock, California

# 13,554:

9:35 am PST, Feb 16, Name not displayed, Germany

# 13,553:

3:46 pm PST, Jan 30, Name not displayed, Greece

# 13,552:

8:52 am PST, Jan 27, Gale Weaner, Texas

# 13,551:

6:53 pm PST, Jan 6, Name not displayed, Canada

# 13,550:

6:21 pm PST, Jan 4, Name not displayed, Texas
Keeping our religious freedom is very important, and explicitly promised in the First Amendment of our Bill of Rights. Please uphold the promise.

# 13,549:

2:09 pm PST, Dec 30, Myra Money, North Carolina

# 13,548:

5:04 am PST, Dec 25, Name not displayed, Germany

# 13,547:

5:06 pm PST, Nov 14, Tyler Martin, Canada

# 13,546:

7:46 pm PDT, Oct 5, Cara Gubrud, Minnesota

# 13,545:

7:38 pm PDT, Sep 17, Kyna Crain, Montana

# 13,544:

10:30 pm PDT, Sep 16, Earline Clark, Texas
American's are supposed to be guaranteed the right to worship as they please. The Government has no right to infringe on this right, nor any other right given an American citizen under the Constitution. Our politicians need to read the Constitution again and put our lives back as it was intended by our founding fathers.

# 13,543:

8:03 am PDT, Sep 12, Linda Olson, Texas
Freedom of (from) religion as per the Constitution

# 13,542:

4:44 am PDT, Sep 12, Name not displayed, California

# 13,541:

6:18 pm PDT, Aug 22, Sharon Dickenson, Kentucky

# 13,540:

8:46 pm PDT, Aug 21, Ross Nicol, Michigan

# 13,539:

11:25 pm PDT, Aug 18, Olivia Geri, New Jersey
This Nation was built on Believers of Jesus. God is what helped us grow, now God is being pushed away, cant you see the destruction that has been caused since God has been pushed away. America was established with and by believers in God. America grew and prospered and was a peaceful land. But then came people who wanted to change everything they didnt want God to be apart of America they cries like little demon seed babies and got their way well pat yourselves on the backs for the poverty, murder, rape, hatred my shall I go on. We must ask God to again put his powerful arm of protection back upon this Nation because it is being destroyed and divided. Bring prayer back into classrooms, KEEP CHRIST in CHRISTMAS. Religion should have ben left where it was and taken out of NOTHING.

# 13,538:

11:27 am PDT, Aug 18, Chuck Dowe, Massachusetts

# 13,537:

2:07 am PDT, Aug 12, Allison Holston, California

# 13,536:

8:33 pm PDT, Jul 15, B Mathiasen, California
Our first five presidents, who lived through the era of our Constitution's creation, were either Deists or Unitarians and believed that Jesus was not a divine being. They understood the importance of separating religion from the management of the State. That's why they included the Establishment and the Free Exercise clauses in the First Amendment. Please do not step backwards and create a fundamentalist Christian society in the U.S. to fight the ugly minority of Islamic fundamentalists in the MidEast.

# 13,535:

7:57 pm PDT, Jul 13, John Chapman, Ohio
I thamk that the usa should be real and start to put religion back into the public scean and schools Our country was founded on that pourpous we need Jesus to make things go better.

# 13,534:

5:36 am PDT, Jun 19, Bill Runtz, Missouri

# 13,533:

9:16 pm PDT, Jun 15, Robyn Sharpe, Massachusetts

# 13,532:

12:13 am PDT, Jun 14, Laurel Burns, Maine

# 13,531:

4:28 pm PDT, May 19, Mark B. McLean, Texas
HAS AMERICA LOST IT'S MIND? WE FOUGHT THIS BATTLE IN 1776 DUH- WHAT WANT TO DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN- I'M GAME

# 13,530:

9:23 am PDT, May 19, Anita Lee, North Carolina

# 13,529:

11:49 am PDT, May 16, Brad Rierson, Minnesota

# 13,528:

9:02 am PDT, May 16, Kristin Hulett, California

# 13,527:

2:10 pm PDT, May 15, Lillian Bailey, North Carolina
The USA is the last christian continent there is, this nation was built for the freedom of religion and as we say "One nation under God" and that is what we are.

# 13,526:

5:02 pm PDT, May 14, JoAnn Hyatt, California

# 13,525:

2:35 pm PDT, May 14, Catherine Albers, California

# 13,524:

7:01 am PDT, May 11, Velda Haviland, Oklahoma

# 13,523:

7:58 am PDT, May 9, Amanda Cromwell, Illinois

# 13,522:

10:58 pm PDT, May 8, Daniele Walker, Texas

# 13,521:

8:40 pm PDT, May 7, Susan Zebert, New York
As a child I knelt down by my bedside to pray.Our country was founded and created with God and faith.. "In God We Trust"... We are One nation under God..

# 13,520:

3:44 pm PDT, May 5, Bobby Sheninger, New York
please protect the Ideals this country was founded on and established for!

# 13,519:

8:13 am PDT, May 5, Chris M. Murphy, Canada

# 13,518:

8:58 am PDT, May 4, Christine Eret, California
What grips me is that in order for my daughter to be a part of the youth group at church, she has to pay a fee of $100!! This isn't fair to those who are part of the working class poor.

# 13,517:

10:32 am PDT, May 3, George Yenoki, California

# 13,516:

3:42 pm PDT, May 2, Michelle Brown, Virginia

# 13,515:

1:19 pm PDT, Apr 30, Carla Meyer, Illinois
Religion here in this country is free, simply because you get to believe what you want and not what you were told. In the Mideast, you are TOLD to believe in the religion there. Not here. If someone were to tell me I had to believe in their religion on pain of death. I would choose death. No one has the right to tell me what to believe. Keep Religion free. Thank you.

# 13,514:

10:35 pm PDT, Apr 29, Billy Dillingham, North Carolina

# 13,513:

6:24 pm PDT, Apr 29, Rosalind D'Amore, Florida

# 13,512:

6:29 am PDT, Apr 29, Marilyn Kinyon, West Virginia
This is one of the rights our country was founded on and should not be an issue!

# 13,511:

9:47 am PDT, Apr 28, Heather Boyer, Florida

# 13,510:

8:31 pm PDT, Apr 27, TAYLOR WEIDNER, Colorado

# 13,509:

12:23 pm PDT, Apr 27, Malissa Romero, Arizona

# 13,508:

10:14 am PDT, Apr 27, Edward Jasmin, Ohio

# 13,507:

11:54 am PDT, Apr 26, Jamie Scott, Texas

# 13,506:

10:42 am PDT, Apr 26, Leslie Kidd, Georgia

# 13,505:

10:59 am PDT, Apr 25, Mary Rodriguez, Texas

# 13,504:

1:06 pm PDT, Apr 23, Edward Mulder, South Dakota

# 13,503:

11:55 pm PDT, Apr 22, Sara Boissonnault, New Hampshire

# 13,502:

9:14 pm PDT, Apr 22, Jeffrey S. Neuin, Kentucky

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Keep Religion Free in Your Community

This petition has been closed.