Federal Judge Rejects Lawsuit Against Pledge and 'In God We Trust

A federal judge in Wisconsin has rejected a lawsuit by the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation seeking to have the phrase "In God We Trust" and the Pledge of Allegiance removed from the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C.

U.S. District Judge William Conley ruled that the group did not have proper standing in the case, since it could not prove that the engravings were connected to a specific Congressional appropriation. As Newsmax reports, Conley reminded the group in his ruling that Supreme Court precedent dictates that taxpayers can’t bring a suit alleging injury unless the injury is tied to such a measure:

“Plaintiffs fail to establish standing because they cannot point to any specific Congressional appropriation for the allegedly unconstitutional concurrent resolution,” he wrote.

Still, Conley didn’t rule on whether or not the phrases, already chiseled into stone at the visitor center, violate separation of church and state. That has left the suit's authors optimistic.

“We did not lose on the merits, it’s procedural," FFRF's presidnet Annie Laurie Gaylor told CNS News. "And the merits we want to address, because the administration did write a brief on the merits and it’s just full of distorted history and the distorted perception of the separation of church and state that is required by our Constitution.”

Gaylord added that the dismissal was "not unexpected" and the group plans to re-file the suit in Washington, D.C.

Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, told CNS News that he was “extremely pleased” that the judge agreed that the suit should be dismissed. Sekulow was representing 50 members of Congress who decided to fight the lawsuit.

"This challenge was another misguided attempt to alter history and purge America of religious references,” Sekulow said.

CNS News compiled a list of the 50 Congressional members (47 House members and 3 Senators) who defended the National Moto and Pledge:

Sens Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.); Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA.), the chairman of the the chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus; Reps. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.); Todd Akin (R-Mo.); Rodney Alexander (R-La.); Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.); Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.); Rob Bishop (R-Utah); Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.); Roy Blunt (R-Mo.); John Boehner (R-Ohio); John Boozman (R-Ark.); Dan Burton (R-Ind.); Eric Cantor (R-Va.); Mike Conaway (R-Texas); Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.); Scott Garrett (R-N.J.); Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.); Ralph Hall (R-Texas); Gregg Harper (R-Miss.); Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas); Bob Inglis (R-S.C.); Sam Johnson (R-Texas); Walter Jones (R-N.C.); Jim Jordan (R-Ohio); Steve King (R-Iowa); John Kline (R-Minn.); Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.); Don Manzullo (R-Ill.); Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.); Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.); Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.); Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.); Candice Miller (R-Mich.); Jeff Miller (R-Fla.); Jerry Moran (R-Kan.); Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas); Mike Pence (R-Ind.); Joseph Pitts (R-Pa.); Ted Poe (R-Texas); John Shadegg (R-Ariz.); John Shimkus (R-Ill.); Bill Shuster (R-Pa.); Mark Souder (R-Ind.); Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.); Zack Wamp (R-Tenn.); Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), and Don Young (R-Alaska).