I dont think you are going to be happy when your tax dollars go to support a religious group that you don’t agree with.

Are you going to be ok with your tax money going to schools to teach the kids about Allah and the Koran , preaching during school?

The First Amendment guarantees Religious Freedom to all, regardless of faith. It also prohibits government interference with that right. It seems to me that the proposed Amendment 7 would be opening the door to government endorsement of specific religions and denial to others.

We the People, need to ensure that everyone’s rights are protected — not just the favored majority. If we fail to do this, what other freedoms and rights would be next to be controlled?

Why? Because freedom of religion/conscience, freedom OF and freedom FROM religion is the bottom line. We are diverse in belief and conviction. The Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights supports freedom of the INDIVIDUAL, not ANY group, but most especially not any religious organization, church, school, etc. These people in Florida government wanting to mess with these laws should probably be prosecuted for treason.

Hmm. How many of you would like to see vouchers go to Protestant Christian schools? Okay, how about Jewish schools? Roman Catholic? Or, an Islamic school? Buddist? Hindu? Wiccan? Transcendentalist? You get the point. Who would not mind seeing their tax dollars go to the school (through vouchers) that YOU believe in? But, do you have any heartburn about those same dollars going to one of these institutions that you do not support? I bet you do.

You see, we are all free to freely exercise religion. Many countries cannot do this in their own homes without being spied upon by the government. (Chinese Christians and Sudanese Christians are good examples of such.) BUT, no public money can aid in that exercise of freedom of religion.

If you are one of those who loves to point to the Constitution and show how it is not being followed, keep in mind Article I Section 3 of the Florida Constitution has never been found to be in conflict with the U.S. Constitution, and remember that we are citizens of both the U.S. and our state of residence.

Public school vouchers support religious teachings (indirectly). And that is unconstitutional. But, if a family wants to raise a child in a certain religious environment, they are FREE under both constitutions to do so. If you believe Baptist is the way, you are free to teach and practice it. If you believe Catholic is the way, you, too, are free to teach and practice it. Same goes for those religions not popular regionally.

If you are wanting to improve education of young people, vouchers is not the “cure all” solution. I would instead focus on less TV (which is essentially anti-religion culture entering YOUR family home), less on internet games and silly activities, and more on reading, exploring, and simply talking with one another and communicating better. Expand your faith within the family. Please don’t make the government, public schools, etc. pick a religion and teach it. As parents, that is YOUR responsibility to pass the torch of a faith to your children. That’s perfectly legal, and that’s what America’s religious freedom is about.

- – - which will never happen anyway. Public education is not uniform. There are special programs for those perceived to have special needs. (How uniform would it be to teach verbally to the deaf, teach in English to those who only speak French?)

Teachers will prefer certain schools over others so some schools will have teachers who didn’t want to be there.

In some schools, students have to dodge bullets on the way, in others they have to dodge joggers.

Students come to school with different outlooks and life experiences, so the same lesson by the same teacher will have different educational results.

Anyhoo, our state constitution thus promises an impossibility.

David for reality and honesty

And, of course, you won’t find it, not the phrase itself.

The wording was first spelled out by President Thomas Jefferson in 1802 when writing to Danbury Baptists Association “- – - that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.”
If you would kindly read the first amendment it states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; – - – “)

They were worried the federal government would support state churches, which many of them did at one time. They were afraid they would have to pay into the coffers of other churches even though they didn’t agree with the teachings of those churches. It was important to them because they believed the doctrines of many other denominations or religions would send souls to Hell and did not want to pay to cause such destruction or for the rich lifestyles of their clergy. (The other folks were just as certain the doctrines of us Baptists would have the same effect.)

Anyway, if you take money from taxpayers and give it to churches in any form, you have supported that religion in some degree. Not everybody has the same religious beliefs. Anything other than separation will be construed by somebody as favoring somebody else.

David explaining