Hialeah City Charter

[Steven D. Jamar]

It strikes me that it is quite different to say that laws are to be made
subject to god's will and that the people are grateful to god or trust in
god.

In Egypt a decade or so ago the constitution was changed from stating the
the Quran was A source of law to the Quran was THE source of law.  I for
one think it matters.

It also seems to me that there is no purpose other than establishment in
the phrasing of Hialeah's charter.  In this day and age why else would it
be included?

Mr. Nelson, other than establishing religion, why did you advise it be included?

Cheers,
Steve Jamar

>
> In this case, we (Liberty Counsel) advised the City of Hialeah that
> references in historical documents such as "in accordance with the will of
> Almighty God" are not directives.  We cited the Constitution of the State of
> Florida which states that "the people of the State of Florida, being
> grateful to Almighty God ..." and also the Declaration of Independence
> making several references to the "Creator" and "God", etc.  We advised that
> such references do not create mandates (as the detractors argue), but merely
> reflection.  Several detractors have argued that "Almighty God" can only be
> a reference to a "Christian God" so other faiths would be adversely impacted
> by city decisions.  The detractors suggest that such references in all
> historical documents should be sought out and sterilized.  Do we really
> believe that such a process would be a good use of our government's time or
> money?
> >
> **********************
> Rick Nelson, Esq.
> Liberty Counsel
> 1 (800) 671-1776
> rick at lc.org

Steven D. Jamar

President, Legal Writing Institute

Professor of Law
Director LRW Program
Howard University School of Law
2900 Van Ness Street NW
Washington, DC  20008

vox:  202-806-8017   fax:  202-806-8428
email:  sjamar at law.howard.edu

The more you know, the more you know you don't know.