FIRST REGULAR SESSION
House Concurrent Resolution No. 13
92ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Whereas, many citizens have found the reasoning behind and the practical results of court decisions relating to school prayer difficult to understand since the 1962 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Engel v. Vitale; and
Whereas, current Gallup polls indicate that as recently as August 2001, seventy-eight percent of those polled favored a constitutional amendment to allow voluntary prayer in public schools; and
Whereas, the 107th Congress had before it two House Joint Resolutions and a Senate Joint Resolution that proposed an amendment to the United States Constitution to permit voluntary school prayer, but after referral to committee and then subcommittee, all three Joint Resolutions were never actively considered; and
Whereas, the 108th Congress currently has before it a House Joint Resolution sponsored by Representative Jo Ann Emerson of Missouri that proposes an amendment to the United States Constitution to permit voluntary school prayer and which was referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary on January 7, 2003; and
Whereas, with a clear majority of people in favor of such an amendment, the United States Congress should be moving with deliberate speed to consider the matter, especially given the events of September 11, 2001, the pending threat of war with Iraq, the escalation of tensions with North Korea, and the ongoing war on terror being waged in Afghanistan:
Now, therefore, be it resolved that the members of the House of Representatives of the Ninety-second General Assembly, First Regular Session, the Senate concurring therein, hereby urge the 108th Congress to take up and pass the proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that would permit voluntary prayer in public schools; and
Be it further resolved that the Chief Clerk of the Missouri House of Representatives be instructed to prepare a properly inscribed copy of this resolution for each member of the Missouri Congressional Delegation.