Ban On “God” Lifted
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October 12, 2007
Ban On “God” Lifted
By Scott Presson
Some conservative lawmakers claimed victory Thursday after the architect of the U.S. Capitol reversed a ban on using the word "God" in flag certificates.
According to The Hill dot com, The Architect of the Capitol’s (AoC) office has reversed its policy on the use of religious language on flag certificates, after dozens of lawmakers condemned the practice of removing the word “God” from the certificates.
It all started when Representative Michael R. Turner of Ohio said one of his constituents received an honorary American flag flown over the Capitol and the accompanying certificate from the architect of the U.S. Capitol's office which handles the Capitol flag program.
The word ‘God’ had been eliminated.
The Larochelle family, who had requested the flag, wanted the certificate's inscription to read, in part: ‘In honor of my grandfather, Marcel Larochelle, and his dedication and love of God, country and family.”
In a letter sent to Stephen T. Ayers, acting architect of the Capitol, Turner and 160 fellow lawmakers demanded that the ban be lifted.
"Today, we won a great victory for American traditions, religious freedoms and freedom of expression, said Rep. Turner”.
Each year thousands of Americans, through their congressional representatives, request that flags be flown over the Capitol to honor loved ones.
Guidelines for requesting the honor had said "political and/or religious expressions are not permitted on the flag certificate."
As of Thursday, that restriction no longer applies.
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