Atheist Back With Pledge, Currency Challenges
Atheist Michael Newdow asked a federal appeals court in oral arguments yesterday to remove the words ”under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance and ”In God We Trust” from U.S. currency.
Newdow won a favorable ruling from the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2002 when he sued to stop his daughter’s school from requiring the Pledge of Allegiance, the Associated Press reports. But the U.S. Supreme Court tossed the case because he lacked standing.
Now Newdow is back with different plaintiffs, Law.com reports. One of the judges on the panel this time, Stephen Reinhardt, was also on the 9th Circuit panel that ruled for him in the Pledge case the first time.
Newdow said he wasn’t advocating hostility to God or religion, but he wanted atheists to get the same respect from government as believers. ”I want to be treated equally,” he said.
