July 22, 2002
Pledge case girl doesn't object to pledge
___ELK GROVE, Calif. (RNS)--The mother of the girl whose father sued to have the Pledge of Allegiance declared unconstitutional said July 11 her daughter does not object to reciting the pledge at school.
___"I was concerned that the American public would be led to believe that my daughter is an atheist or that she has been harmed by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, including the words 'one nation under God,'" Sandra Banning said in a statement. "We are practicing Christians and are active in our church."
___Banning's comments, reported by the Associated Press, were her first public remarks since the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed June 26 with Michael Newdow that the words "under God" cause the pledge to unconstitutionally endorse religion. The two words were added by Congress in 1954.
___Banning never married Newdow, the third-grader's father and the atheist who started the legal challenge. She has full custody of their daughter, which Newdow is fighting in court.
___Banning has hired attorneys in part to consider intervention in the pledge case. She said her daughter "expressed sadness" after the decision, which has been stayed in an unusual move by the appellate court.
___Newdow argued in his suit that his daughter was "injured" by being forced to listen to others at the Elk Grove (Calif.) Unified School District recite the pledge.
___"I have a right to send my child to a public school without the government inculcating any religious beliefs," he said.
___He added that it doesn't matter what his daughter believes and that taking her to church doesn't mean she chooses to be religious.
___"The main thrust of this case is not my daughter," he said. "It's me."
___Some legal experts think the mother's declaration that the girl is not harmed by the pledge could make the case moot.
___"The federal courts can't address anything unless it's a case of controversy," said Rory Little, a professor at the University of California's Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. "You have to have injury."
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