February 2, 2000

EDITORIAL:
Old petition bogus, new threat real
___The age-old, oft-told rumor that Madalyn Murray O'Hair and/or her supporters are trying to get religion thrown off the airwaves is circulating. Again.
___Unfortunately, this old immortal rumor has been energized by a new development that sounds similar, but it's not the same.
___The whole affair is a bit complicated. But keep the facts straight. You'll need them in order to clarify the situation for your friends and neighbors.
___The ancient rumor claims O'Hair's organization is circulating "Petition 2493," which would put a stop to "all Sunday worship services being broadcast either by radio or TV." The rumor also claims O'Hair's group is working to "remove all Christmas programs, Christmas songs and Christmas carols from public schools."
___The rumor is fallacious on several counts:
___ O'Hair has been missing for several years. Many law enforcement officials involved in her case indicate they believe she is dead. She's not involved in any action.
___ O'Hair never was affiliated with "Petition 2493," also known as "RM 2493." That request was filed in 1974 by Jeremy Lansman and Lorenzo Milam. They asked the Federal Communications Commission to freeze licenses for new educational television and FM radio stations that were to air only religious or quasi-religious programs. Their request would not have eliminated religious broadcasting from radio and TV stations that already had received government broadcast licenses.
___ FCC commissioners unanimously denied RM 2493--more than 24 years ago. The FCC issued a statement Aug. 1, 1975, noting the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires the commission "to observe a stance of neutrality toward religion, acting neither to promote nor to inhibit religion." Furthermore, the commission specifically stressed the First Amendment denies it the authority to prohibit religious activity.
___ The dating used in the petition proves it is at least 22 years old. The petition describes O'Hair as "an atheist (who) successfully eliminated the use of Bible reading and prayer from schools 15 years ago." The Supreme Court decision to which the statement refers was handed down in 1963-- nearly 37 years ago. Even remedial math is sufficient to show the last time the statement was written was in 1978.
___Baptist newspapers have been dispelling the bogus rumor since the '70s. And not much has changed since then, except O'Hair has died and the rumor refuses to succumb. But now, an unrelated FCC ruling has resurrected the rumor to new prominence.
___New FCC regulations, released Dec. 29, mandate that television stations granted non-commercial educational licenses must devote at least 50 percent of their programming to educational shows. However, programs "primarily devoted to religious exhortation, proselytizing or statements of personally held religious views or beliefs" may not count toward the total for educational programming. The only church service that could count would be the funeral service for a national leader, the new regulations say.
___The new regulations are wrong. They put government in the position of making qualitative decisions regarding religion. Is religious programming educational? The FCC says no. Many other fair-minded and rational citizens would say yes.
___Government is ill-equipped to make value judgments regarding religious expression. That's one beauty of the First Amendment; it keeps government from interfering in religious affairs, as well as free speech, both of which are impacted by the FCC's new regulations regarding religious programming. This latest FCC action would appear to violate the 1975 FCC "stance of neutrality toward religion" statement.
___Several members of Congress have announced their intentions to introduce legislation to remedy the problem presented by the new FCC regulations. You can encourage your representative and senators by calling the U.S. Capitol at (202) 224-3121. Contact information for specific lawmakers is available on the Internet at www.house.gov and www.senate.gov.
___However, if you choose to make your feelings known, do so intelligently. RM 2493 is a long-dead issue. But the new FCC ruling regarding educational TV programming will be before Congress this year. It's the issue that can be shaped by your attention.
___ --Marv Knox

E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com

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