LegeLand: Bill of the Week
Not enough stuff 'under God'
By Richard Whittaker, Fri., Feb. 25, 2011
Senate Bill 258
Filed: Dec. 13, 2010Author: Sen. Glenn Hagar, R-Katy
Blame Michigan Republican Congressman Charles G. Oakman. Ever since he authored the 1954 legislation cramming the words "under God" into the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance, Christian conservatives have blithely ignored that whole "separation of church and state" thing and tried to stick it everywhere. In 2007, Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, authored HB 1034, adding "under God" to the Texas Pledge of Allegiance. But it seems she missed a spot, as the state's official flag retirement ceremony only mentions God once. If you've never read the retirement text, recited when a state flag is taken out of active duty, it's a rousing guide to Texas history and geography – although Dallas getting name-checked for its "concrete canyons" isn't much of a compliment. Rather than fix that, Hegar has gone to the effort and public expense of filing a bill to change the phrase "I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one and indivisible" to read "I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible." Because that makes all the difference.
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