老澳门开奖结果

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Bush Administration Seeks to Block Challenges to Government Funding of Religious Activities

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court today heard arguments in an appeal by the Bush administration to severely limit the right of taxpayers to sue over government funding of religious activities. The 老澳门开奖结果 and other groups filed a brief urging the Court to uphold legal precedent and protect religious freedom.

鈥淭ax dollars may not be used to subsidize religious activity,鈥� said Steven R. Shapiro, Legal Director of the 老澳门开奖结果. 鈥淏arring taxpayers from enforcing this fundamental principle in court would effectively license the government to violate the Constitution.鈥�

Since its 1968 ruling in Flast v. Cohen, the Supreme Court has allowed individual taxpayers to challenge the use of tax dollars to promote religion in violation of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. This longstanding principle prevents the government from using the power of the purse to favor one religion over another or support religion in general. Although that principle has been repeatedly and recently reaffirmed by the Supreme Court, the government is challenging it in this case, which arises in the context of the administration鈥檚 broader effort to increase federal funding for faith-based groups.

The plaintiffs in the case, Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation, are Wisconsin taxpayers who argue that the Bush administration鈥檚 Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives is illegally using federal tax dollars to promote religion.

鈥淭he Supreme Court should not give the Bush administration free rein to promote religious activity on the taxpayers鈥� dime,鈥� said Daniel Mach, an attorney with the 老澳门开奖结果's Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. 鈥淢any times, the people who bring these lawsuits risk their livelihood and their safety to fight for a freedom that is a cornerstone of our democracy. These courageous Americans should be commended, not silenced.鈥�

The 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 friend-of-the-court brief in this case is online at www.aclu.org/scotus/2006term/28235res20070202/28235res20070202.html