Nevada joins Pledge battle

Jennifer Knight

Thursday, June 12, 2003 | 10:57 a.m.

Attorney General Brian Sandoval said Nevada joined 48 other states Wednesday in support of keeping the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.

The action comes as a result of a ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which said the pledge's reference to God was an unconstitutional endorsement of religion when it is recited in public schools. But Sandoval and other attorneys general disagree with the ruling and want the U.S. Supreme Court to have the final word. California, the state where the case was filed, will seek a separate action.

"We joined the action because the Supreme Court has ruled that the words 'under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance do not endorse any particular religious belief," Sandoval said. "Students, if they wish, have a right to refrain from this patriotic exercise, so we're lost on how the 9th Circuit could rule that it constitutes a violation of rights or the establishment of religion."

The case, Newdow v. United States of America and Elk Grove Unified School District, aimed to challenge a 1954 decision by Congress to add the words "under God" to the pledge. Neadow argued that his child's recitation of the pledge was tantamount to prayer.

The 9th Circuit decision controverted an earlier ruling by the 7th District Court of Appeals, which ruled in a similar case that the recitation of the pledge in schools was not unconstitutional.

A spokesman for Sandoval said regardless of the origins of the pledge, the attorney general sees the pledge as a 50-year-old tradition.

"Regardless of origin it has a certain weight of tradition," Tom Sargent, spokesman for the attorney general's office. "It's been around for some time. The argument that this violates someone's rights is not true because they have the option to not participate."

The Associated Press

contributed to this story.