Battle to remove “under God”

by Ben Caballero CAB03003@BYUI.EDU News Asst. Editor

The battle to remove the words “under God” from The Pledge of Allegiance won a victory Wednesday in parts of California.

U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton ruled that repeating these words is unconstitutional for schools under his jurisdiction.

Michael Newdow, an atheist, filed the lawsuit. He has tried to get the words “under God” removed from the pledge several times before on behalf of his daughter who attends school in that area.

In 2002 the Ninth Circuit Court found these words unconstitutional, but the Supreme Court dismissed the case in June 2004 saying that Newdow did not have proper custody of his child.

However, Newdow has appealed in behalf of several other atheist parents with full custody of their children.

In consequence, Karlton said he was forced to uphold the Ninth Circuit’s previous decision, banning the words “under God” from three California school districts under his jurisdiction.

Newdow argues that reciting these words in the pledge makes those who do not believe in God feel like outsiders.