Political Quotes

“In three weeks the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Istook) will try to amend the U.S. Bill of Rights, the sacred document that has served America for well over 200 years. Perhaps the greatest contribution of the American experiment in democracy is our Nation's religious freedom. Because of our Bill of Rights, America is not torn by religious wars. In contrast to the religious strife in Northern Ireland and in the Middle East, Americans are at peace. In contrast to Islamic fundamentalist states that use government to force religion upon its citizens, America's Founding Fathers had the wisdom to write a Bill of Rights that separated the power of government from the freedom of religion. These and others are powerful reasons why the Bill of Rights has never been amended in our Nation's 207 years; never, never has been amended since the Bill of Rights was adopted 207 years ago. Yet Mr. Istook not only wants to tamper with the Bill of Rights, he wants to rewrite the first 16 words of the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights, those words that say 'Congress shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.' Now, Mr. Istook calls his bill the religious freedom amendment. I would suggest that James Madison and our Founding Fathers beat Mr. Istook to the punch by just over 200 years. The real religious freedom amendment is called the First Amendment of our Constitution.”