Ten Commandments Defense Act of 2003

Ten Commandments Defense Act of 2003 - Declares the following : (1) that the power to display the Ten Commandments on or within property owned or administered by the several States or their political subdivisions is among the powers reserved to the States respectively (under the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution); (2) that the expression of religious faith by individual persons on or within property owned or administered by the several States or their political subdivisions is among the rights secured (under the First Amendment) against laws respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise of religion made or enforced by the Federal Government; and (3) that the expression of religious faith by individual persons on or within property owned or administered by the several States or their political subdivisions is among the liberties of which no State shall deprive any person without due process of law made in pursuance of powers reserved to the States respectively.

[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2045 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2045

                    To defend the Ten Commandments.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 9, 2003

   Mr. Aderholt (for himself, Mr. Akin, Mr. Bachus, Mr. Bartlett of 
Maryland, Mr. Beauprez, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Bonner, Mr. Brady of Texas, 
 Mr. Brown of South Carolina, Mr. Burgess, Mr. Cannon, Mr. Cantor, Mr. 
 Chocola, Mr. Crane, Mr. DeLay, Mr. DeMint, Mr. Doolittle, Mr. Feeney, 
   Mr. Goode, Mr. Goodlatte, Ms. Hart, Mr. Hayes, Mr. Hayworth, Mr. 
 Herger, Mr. Hoekstra, Mr. Hostettler, Mr. Istook, Mr. Sam Johnson of 
 Texas, Mr. Jones of North Carolina, Mr. King of Iowa, Mr. Kline, Mr. 
 Lewis of Kentucky, Mr. Lucas of Kentucky, Mr. McIntyre, Mr. Miller of 
 Florida, Mrs. Musgrave, Mrs. Myrick, Mr. Otter, Mr. Oxley, Mr. Pence, 
Mr. Pitts, Mr. Rogers of Alabama, Mr. Ryun of Kansas, Mr. Sessions, Mr. 
Shuster, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Souder, Mr. Stenholm, Mr. Terry, 
   Mr. Tiahrt, Mr. Tiberi, Mr. Vitter, Mr. Wamp, Mr. Whitfield, Mr. 
  Wicker, and Mr. Wilson of South Carolina) introduced the following 
       bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
                    To defend the Ten Commandments.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Ten Commandments Defense Act of 
2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

     The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Declaration of Independence declares that 
        governments are instituted to secure certain unalienable 
        rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, 
        with which all human beings are endowed by their Creator and to 
        which they are entitled by the laws of nature and of nature's 
        God.
            (2) The organic laws of the United States Code and the 
        constitutions of every State, using various expressions, 
        recognize God as the source of the blessings of liberty.
            (3) The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United 
        States secures rights against laws respecting an establishment 
        of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof made by 
        the United States Government.
            (4) The rights secured under the first amendment have been 
        interpreted by courts of the United States Government to be 
        included among the provisions of the fourteenth amendment.
            (5) The tenth amendment reserves to the States respectively 
        the powers not delegated to the United States Government nor 
        prohibited to the States.
            (6) Disputes and doubts have arisen with respect to public 
        displays of the Ten Commandments and to other public expression 
        of religious faith.
            (7) Section 5 of the fourteenth amendment grants the 
        Congress power to enforce the provisions of the said amendment.
            (8) Article I, section 8, grants the Congress power to 
        constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court, and article 
        III, section 1, grants the Congress power to ordain and 
        establish courts in which the judicial power of the United 
        States Government shall be vested.

SEC. 3. RELIGIOUS LIBERTY RIGHTS DECLARED.

    (a) Display of Ten Commandments.--The power to display the Ten 
Commandments on or within property owned or administered by the several 
States or political subdivisions thereof is hereby declared to be among 
the powers reserved to the States respectively.
    (b) Expression of Religious Faith.--The expression of religious 
faith by individual persons on or within property owned or administered 
by the several States or political subdivisions thereof is hereby--
            (1) declared to be among the rights secured against laws 
        respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free 
        exercise of religion made or enforced by the United States 
        Government or by any department or executive or judicial 
        officer thereof; and
            (2) declared to be among the liberties of which no State 
        shall deprive any person without due process of law made in 
        pursuance of powers reserved to the States respectively.
    (c) Exercise of Judicial Power.--The courts constituted, ordained, 
and established by the Congress shall exercise the judicial power in a 
manner consistent with the foregoing declarations.
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