HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 23
(By Delegates Louisos, Frederick, Mathews, L. Smith, Angotti,
Armstead, Ashley, Azinger, Border, Dempsey, Ellem, Evans,
Faircloth, Flanigan, Fragale, Harrison, Leggett, McGraw,
Overington, Prunty, Riggs, Romine, R. M. Thompson, Trump,
Walters, Webb and C. White)
[Introduced February 22, 2002; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Rules.]
Authorizing the establishment of the West Virginia House of
Delegates Prayer Chapel.
Whereas, All proceedings of the United States Supreme Court
include the proclamation, "God save the United States and this
Honorable Court."; and
Whereas, All proceedings of the West Virginia Supreme Court of
Appeals are opened with the proclamation, "God save the United
States and this Honorable Court."; and
Whereas, The United States Supreme Court has stated, "From
colonial times, through the founding of the Republic and ever
since, the practice of legislative prayer has coexisted with the
principles of disestablishment and religious freedom."; and
Whereas, Both chambers of the United States Congress elected
their first chaplains in 1789; and
Whereas, The United States Supreme Court has stated, "Clearly the men who wrote the First Amendment Religion Clauses did not view
paid legislative chaplains and opening prayers as a violation of
that Amendment, for the practice of opening sessions with prayer
has continued without interruption ever since that early Session of
Congress."; and
Whereas, The United States Supreme Court has stated that the
"Founding Fathers could not have intended the First Amendment to
forbid legislative prayer or viewed prayer as a step toward an
established church."; and
Whereas, The United States Supreme Court has stated, "It can
hardly be thought that in the same week Members of the First
Congress voted to appoint and to pay a chaplain for each House and
also voted to approve the draft of the First Amendment for
submission to the states, they intended the Establishment Clause of
the Amendment to forbid what they had just declared acceptable.";
and
Whereas, The United States Supreme Court has stated, "[We] are
a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being.";
and
Whereas, In 1789 the United States House of Representatives
requested a Thanksgiving Day to acknowledge "the many signal favors of Almighty God"; and
Whereas, The Preamble to the West Virginia Constitution states
that "Since through Divine Providence we enjoy the blessings of
civil, political and religious liberty, we, the people of West
Virginia, in and through the provisions of this Constitution,
reaffirm our faith in and constant reliance upon God..."; and
Whereas, The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States
proclaims that we are "One Nation Under God"; and
Whereas, The National Motto of the United States is "In God We
Trust"; and
Whereas, The United States Congress has established in the
United States Capitol, a room set aside for prayer; therefore, be
it
Resolved by the House of Delegates:
That a Chapel for silent prayer and meditation shall be
established;
That the Chapel shall be financed by private donations and
that the donations shall be appropriately acknowledged;
That the Chapel shall be open only to legislators for silent
prayer and meditation during legislative sessions and interim
meetings;
That the Chapel shall be open to the public for silent prayer
and meditation at all times when the West Virginia Legislature is
not in legislative session or interim meetings;
That the hallway outside the Chapel shall be designated as a
quiet zone;
That the Speaker shall appoint delegates who are interested in
establishing the Chapel to a bipartisan Chapel committee; and
That the Chapel committee shall establish the location,
furnishings, decorations, and any other pertinent items needed to
establish the Chapel.