law and constitution

Question

Steve Dedmon, newly elected House of Representative to the U.S. Congress from Florida, who is a Muslim, has ignited debate across the country because he has expressed his desire to use the Qur’an as the book on which he will pledge or affirm his allegiance to do his duty as a representative, as opposed to the traditional use of the Bible. He wishes to place his left hand on two 18th-century volumes of the Qur’an formally owned by Thomas Jefferson now archived in the Library of Congress. He has now come to you seeking your legal opinion on the Constitutional controversy raised by this issue and the possibility of filing a lawsuit, as there is a

House Rule that addresses his wanting to use the Qur’an. House Rule 1.01: The only text recognized by the House for the swearing in of newly elected members is the Bible. Should an elected official use any text other than the Bible this honorable House will not officially recognize him/her in their capacity as a House member and they will be barred from serving in any matters associated with the official functions of this honorable body.

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Your research of this issue has lead you to the case of Powell ET AL v. McCormack. Speaker of

the House of Representatives, ET AL, 395 U.S. 486.

Based on the United States Constitution and the case identify and discuss the legal issues raised in the question and answered by both the Constitution and what the Supreme Court says in the Powell case and its relevance to the issue facing Mr. Dedmon. Address “ALL” (including parts we did not discuss in class as I want to do my best to insure you have read the entire Constitution) of the Constitutional issues your client faces, and Constitutional defenses available to him.

Answer 1

I give only a tidbit but maybe it is helpful.

We have our freedom as people and our unalienable rights from God.

As the Declaration of Independence founds those rights as ABOVE the Constitution it says they are from

"the laws of nature and of nature's god". Now that God is certainly not the Muslim God. Who can deny it?

Does calling something a religious demand make it protected under the Constitution? NO

Mormon Bigamy is a great example. The Supreme Court said:

“To permit this would be to make the professed doctrines of religious belief superior to the law of the land, and in effect to permit every citizen to become a law unto himself. The government could exist only in name under such circumstances.”

We have Freedom of Religion and you cannot be an American if you are against it. Islam is protected under the Constitution but you must have allegiance to that Constitution to qualify. I have no information on whether the Representative accepts that or not.