Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 2, 1995 TAG: 9506020080
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CODY LOWE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke, serves on the Constitution subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, which will hold the hearing.
The proposed religious equality amendment succeeds earlier proposals to word a school-prayer amendment that would have focused only on clarifying constitutional protections for prayers in public school settings.
The broader constitutional amendment, though not written yet, will aim to "protect the rights of Americans to express their religious faith in the same way that Americans currently enjoy the right to express nonreligious views," Goodlatte said.
Backers want to restore not only the right of students to pray in public forums, but also the right to have a minister or rabbi pray at a school sporting event or graduation ceremony. Goodlatte also said he wants to allow putting a Nativity scene in a public square, and to permit a landlord to refuse to rent to an unmarried couple on religious grounds.
The public hearing, which Goodlatte said would include testimony from "a broad range of citizens," will run from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Other hearings will be scheduled this summer across the country.
by CNB