SECOND REGULAR SESSION

House Concurrent Resolution No. 84

95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES DAVIS (Sponsor), DAY, KRAUS, STREAM, PRATT, RUESTMAN, GATSCHENBERGER, SCHLOTTACH, TRACY, SCHAD, THOMSON, RUZICKA, McGHEE, ZERR, ALLEN, SANDER, WRIGHT, BROWN (149), SCHOELLER, FISHER (125), DIECKHAUS, EMERY, AYRES, GRISAMORE, COOPER, DETHROW, LEARA, WETER, HOSKINS (121), NANCE, SATER, FUNDERBURK, HOBBS, SMITH (14), DENISON, KEENEY, LARGENT, MEINERS, LOEHNER, TILLEY, CASEY, BIERMANN, DUSENBERG, MUNZLINGER, POLLOCK, SCHIEFFER, NIEVES, BRUNS, FRANZ, SCHARNHORST, PARSON, PARKINSON, HARRIS, BURLISON, SCHAAF, SUTHERLAND, DEEKEN, DIXON, BIVINS, KINGERY, KOENIG, SELF AND ICET (Co-sponsors).

5520L.04I

            Whereas, on March 16, 1776, the Continental Congress declared a fast:

"In Congress that Friday, the seventeenth day of May next, be observed by the said colonies as a day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer."; and

            Whereas, the first Continental Congress made a similar declaration in 1777:

"It is therefore recommended to the legislative or executive powers of these United States, to set apart Thursday, the 18th day of December next, for solemn thanksgiving and praise; that with one heart and one voice the good people may express the grateful feelings of their hearts, and consecrate themselves to the service of their divine benefactor; and that together with their sincere acknowledgments and offerings, they may join the penitent confession of their manifold sins, whereby they had forfeited every favor, and their humble and earnest supplication that it may please God, through the merits of Jesus Christ..."; and

            Whereas, in 1789, the First Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified stating:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."; and

            Whereas, President Lincoln recognized national prayer in his "Proclamation of Thanksgiving" on October 3, 1863. In the midst of the Civil War, President Lincoln invited fellow citizens to pray and reminded us that we are prone to forget the source of this nation's blessings. He stated:

"I do, therefore, invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer to our beneficent Father, who dwelleth in the heavens."; and

            Whereas, every President since 1952 has signed a National Day of Prayer proclamation, resulting in 57 presidential proclamations of a National Day of Prayer; and

             Whereas, from 1952 to 2009, there have been 135 national calls to prayer, humiliation, fasting, and thanksgiving by the President of the United States; and

            Whereas, Wisconsin United States Federal Judge Barbara Crabb ruled in favor of the Freedom From Religion Foundation which argued that the government setting aside a day of prayer violates the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution; and

            Whereas, conservative legal analysts agree that the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution is designed to prevent the federal government from establishing a national church, not to prevent our citizens from respecting our history of the founding of the Judeo-Christian country:

            Now, therefore, be it resolved that the members of the House of Representatives of the Ninety-fifth General Assembly, Second Regular Session, the Senate concurring therein, hereby declare our strong stand against judges who seek to strip us of our traditions, our heritage, and our acknowledgment of God Almighty, Creator, and sustainer of the universe, author of all justice, civility, truth, and source of mercy, grace, and charity; and

            Be it further resolved that the Missouri General Assembly is taking notice and will not tolerate further judicial activism against the citizens of our country in any attempts to strip us of our First Amendment rights under the United States Constitution.

            •