Pledge's phrasing is a legislative matter

Reference Madeline Reno's Letter published under the above headline: Ms. Reno should be fulsomely commended for her interest in topics current in the life of the nation. However, I must take issue with her contention that the "… United States government cannot legally take "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance…"

The pledge was written in 1892 for a celebration of Columbus Day, slightly modified in 1924 and received official recognition by Congress in 1942. In 1954 Congress inserted "under God" in the approved version of the pledge — one year before they required the U.S. Mint to include "In God We Trust" on all currency. What a legislature has devised can be altered by that same legislature.

The current phrasing of the pledge is a legislative matter, not a constitutional guarantee. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has attempted to make it a constitutional issue by another of their strained decisions scattered about the political landscape. If their view prevails in the U.S. Supreme Court, the only remedy available to the people is a legislative one.

WALT COPLEY

Sagle