Urgent: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi needs to hear from you

[Ian David]

Urgent: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi needs to hear from you

Jul. 20, 2006 - Although a strong supporter of the separation of church and state, Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) needs to be educated on the rights of atheists, humanists, freethinkers and other nontheists.

On July 19, 2006, Ms. Pelosi led efforts in the attempt to override the presidential veto on embryonic stem cell research (HR 810) and to prevent court stripping regarding the Pledge of Allegiance (HR 2389). She also voted against transferring the property around Mt. Soledad Easter Cross (HR 5683) to the federal government, even though a majority of her Democratic colleagues voted in favor of this political stunt to delay the removal of this unconstitutional endorsement of Christianity.

However, while speaking on the House floor against HR 2389, she stated, "We all agree - 'one Nation, under God' - what a beautiful pledge. We all agree."

By making this statement, she perpetuates the myth that nontheistic Americans do not exist, or are not truly American.

This was not just a misstatement made in the heat of a floor debate. In 2004, Ms. Pelosi publicly reprimanded Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) for omitting the words "under God" while leading the Congress in the pledge.

Take a stand: Contact Ms. Pelosi and urge her to change both her language and her stance on this issue. Secular Coalition for America director Lori Lipman Brown has sent a letter (.pdf) to Ms. Pelosi and will seek to meet with her to educate her on our constituency and this issue. Your e-mails, faxes and phone calls will help drive home the point that our constituency exists and demands to be recognized.

Non-constituents - e-mail Pelosi as the House Minority Leader at http://www.housedemocrats.gov/contact/index.cfm.

Constituents - e-mail Pelosi's office at at [e-mail] or use this Web form. (Be sure to include your full name, address, and zip code).

Other contact information for Ms. Pelosi:
202-225-4965 (phone)
202-225-8259 (fax)

Below you will find a sample letter regarding this issue. Please feel free to adapt it to your voice, and to add any additional information of importance to you:

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Ms. Pelosi:

Thank you for voting against HR 2389, the so-called Pledge Protection Act, and HR 5683, the Mt. Soledad Easter Cross land transfer. I also thank you for your efforts to override President Bush's veto of the expansion of embryonic stem cell research (HR 810). Your leadership on these church-state separation issues is appreciated.

However, I am very concerned about your statement on July 19, 2006 on the floor of the House that "We all agree - 'one Nation, under God' - what a beautiful pledge. We all agree." We do NOT all agree. I do not subscribe to the idea that we are "one Nation, under God." Adding "under God" to the pledge in 1954 divided our country into believers and nonbelievers rather than uniting all Americans -- counter to the goal of the original version which declared our nation as being indivisible.

I urge you to rethink your use of language and your stance on this issue. You were elected to represent all Americans, both theists and nontheists. I also urge you to meet with Lori Lipman Brown, Director of the Secular Coalition for America (SCA). SCA is the first lobbying organization representing the interest of atheists, humanists, freethinkers, and other nontheistic Americans. Ms. Brown can be reached at 202-299-1091.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,
Your signature


More:
http://www.secular.org/activism/pelosi06.html

[babylonsister]

1. Done with pleasure! nt

[Mnemosyne]

2. Done with enthusiasm! n/t

[FtWayneBlue]

3. done. n/t