Rep. Charles Pickering, Republican from Mississippi, introduced House Joint Resolution 40 proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States on Mar. 18, 2003 to guarantee the right to use and recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and the national motto. It was submitted to the Committee on the Judiciary. On May 5, 2003 it was referred to the House Subcommittee on the Constitution.
House Joint Resolution 40 resolved, "by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years after the date of its submission for ratification:
Article --
SECTION 1. The first article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States shall not be construed to prohibit the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, which shall be, `I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.'.
SECTION 2. The first article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States shall not be construed to prohibit the recitation or use of the national motto, which shall be, `In God we trust.'"
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