Ernest Istook: “this evening I think it is important that we talk about one of the very first liberties, one of the very first freedoms…”

“this evening I think it is important that we talk about one of the very first liberties, one of the very first freedoms of the United States of America, something which motivated people to cross the ocean hundreds of years ago in some very small and leaky ships. I am talking about people such as those who first came to Jamestown, those who were the Puritans and pilgrims who were motivated to come to the United States, in large part because they wanted a land of religious freedom. They wanted a land where everyone was free to worship or not worship according to the dictates of their own conscience and not be compelled by the government to give obeisance to any particular faith but certainly to have the freedom without intimidation, whether in private or in public, to express their faith in God. I bring this to the attention of the House tonight, Mr. Speaker, because this is a liberty that is the first one enshrined in our Bill of Rights and yet which is jeopardized by a series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions that basically go back to 1962, decisions that are decisions that discriminate against those who wish to pray at public school, against school prayer.”