CALL TO ACTION! Your local representative needs to hear from you! Please call and ask that HB 1640 be placed on the agenda for passage by the entire PA Senate.
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Our national motto celebrated its 60th Anniversary on July 30th, 2016. God is no stranger to our government. He is present in our state capitol in over 50 places, and in over 100 places in our nation’s capital. The first line of our Pennsylvania Constitution acknowledges how those who penned it invoked God’s guidance. Our national motto is interwoven in American history. In 1814, the words “In God We Trust” first appeared in the fourth stanza of our national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner. The words have been used on U.S. currency since 1864, having been placed there by a native Pennsylvanian, James Pollock, who was appointed as the director of the U.S. Mint by Abraham Lincoln. “In God We Trust” became the U.S. national motto on July 30, 1956, shortly after our nation led the world through the trauma of World War II. Visit: www.ingodwetrustpa.org to learn more about the Pennsylvania origination of our motto. It’s a great PA history story!
There has been some confusion over the legality of posting it. Rest assured this is settled law; the Supreme Court has ruled as recently as 2010 that our motto is a “secular phrase” reflecting our spiritual and patriotic heritage and, does not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. To date, over 650 municipalities have posted it across the nation, 107 in California alone. It is engraved on the front steps of our capitol in Harrisburg and above the speaker’s chair in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The story or our National Motto both instructs and inspires. In both war and peace, these words have been a profound source of strength and guidance to many generations of Americans serving as part of the history and heritage of the United States. Congress noted its “spiritual and psychological” value to our country. The people know this is exactly the correct time to celebrate our motto and acknowledge its significance; after all, it is our National Motto.
Co-sponsored by Rep. Rick Saccone House Bill 1640, is legislation that encourages the display of our national motto, “In God We Trust,” and the Bill of Rights in classrooms and other areas of public school buildings across Pennsylvania. On May 2, 2016, HB 1640 passed the Pennsylvania House overwhelmingly with a vote of 179 yeas to 20 nays. HB 1640 now awaits approval by the Pennsylvania Senate and the signature of the Governor.
Please call your local representative and ask that HB 1640 be placed on the agenda for passage by the entire PA Senate.