Louie Gohmert: “Thank you, my dear friend, Randy Forbes, for all that you do on behalf of religious freedom. I know it is not merely…”

“Thank you, my dear friend, Randy Forbes, for all that you do on behalf of religious freedom. I know it is not merely Christian freedom, but it is religious freedom, and it is under attack. When we look at what the Constitution says, I know it has already been read, but so often we forget the first word. We just blow right past the first word of the First Amendment, and that is that ``Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.'' Why was it that they singled out Congress, because they mentioned States in some of the other amendments. In the 10th Amendment, anything that is not prohibited to the States, that power is reserved to the States and the people. So why is it that they singled out Congress? It is because this was intended for Congress and not for the States. Because the people that voted for these amendments knew that every one of the States had some laws that dealt with some aspect of Christianity, whether it was the oath that was required to be taken, or in some cases, a belief in Jesus Christ. There were all kinds of State and local university laws that had to do with religion, and that, if you wanted to be part of this, you had to believe this way. It was supposed to be a restriction on Congress. We've gotten so far afield from that now we think that we are not allowed to even bring up a hymn here in Congress.…”