The 1st Amendment made a few headlines lately with a case about net neutrality pitting the ALCU against the FCC. Another is a suit about obscenity laws. Internet suppliers want to block enforcement of a law censoring content for minors the First Amendment gives grownups a right to consume. But the brightest First Amendment spotlight Tuesday shone on Delaware Republican Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell for her lack of knowledge concerning the U.S. Constitution.
O’Donnell’s 1st Amendment laugh lines
Christine O’Donnell and Democratic candidate Chris Coons had an argument Tues where the topic had been the 1st Amendment. O’Donnell said that Coons was wrong in saying that public schools cannot teach creationism because it violated the First Amendment rights on freedom of religion while at Widener University Law School, according to Ben Evans at the Associated Press. The Tea Party is being represented by O’Donnell in her speech. She cited “indispensable principles of the Founding Fathers” when talking about how the federal government overreaches sometimes. Coons reminded her that “One of those indispensable principles is the separation of church and state.” Next O’Donnell asked, “Where within the Constitution is the separation of church and state?” The audience erupted in laughter.
Everyone gets to see O’Donnell’s ignorance
Laws are prohibited “respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, infringing on the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances.” This is what the First Amendment, within the Bill of Rights, states. O’Donnell showed that she’s a “fundamental misunderstanding of what our Constitution is,” based on Coons. Then O’Donnell said, “You’re telling me the separation of church and state is found within the First Amendment?” Coons, summarizing the First Amendment, had been interrupted by O’Donnell, who said “That’s within the 1st Amendment?” Widener political scientist Wesley Leckrone told Evans, “You really audibly heard the crowd gasp.”
O’Donnell makes up for comments
Actually, Christine O’Donnell had been right. The 1st Amendment is as she said. The Bill of Rights became a set of constitutional amendments in 1791. According to Evans, Thomas Jefferson started the phrase. That’s where “separation of church and state” comes from. In a letter, Jefferson wrote the 1st Amendment established “a wall of separation between Church and State.” O’Donnell fled from reporters after the debate. But her campaign manager spun a statement saying that O’Donnell “simply made the point that the phrase appears nowhere in the Constitution.”
Articles cited
SF Gate
sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/10/19/politics/p060642D21.DTL and tsp=1
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution
Brainy Quote
brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/t/thomas_jefferson.html
No comments:
Post a Comment