Washington, DC, June 17, 1999… The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today criticized the adoption of several unconstitutional amendments within a broad juvenile justice measure, calling them "false solutions to troubling issues." The House adopted an amendment promoting the display of the Ten Commandments in government buildings, an amendment that would bypass existing constitutional safeguards in government funding of juvenile programs run by religious institutions, and a measure intended to discourage legal challenges to improper religious activities in public schools.

Criticizing both the substance of the amendments and the failure of the House leaders to permit sufficient time for reasoned debate, Howard P. Berkowitz, ADL National Chairman, and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:

Today’s proceedings are a model of how not to legislate on these most important and divisive issues for our nation. With almost no warning, in a series of rapid-fire votes, following the barest of floor debates which occurred in the middle of last night, the House of Representatives has approved a number of constitutionally-suspect amendments.

We strongly object to a process which provided little opportunity for reasoned debate on these issues, which go to the heart of the First Amendment’s church-state separation protections. These amendments were adopted without the benefit of Committee hearings and without any meaningful discussion of their impact.

Worst of all, the House has adopted these troubling amendments in a bill designed to better protect our nation’s children. These are false solutions to troubling issues -- juvenile crime and violence in schools. The real answer lies in promoting programs that educate parents and children to prevent violence and counter hate by challenging bigotry and promoting tolerance, decency and truth.

We are pleased the House rejected another vague and troubling amendment designed to prevent the Justice Department from funding hate crime prevention programs or publications which teach tolerance toward all Americans -- including gays and lesbians. A number of conservative religious organizations had actively lobbied on behalf of this restrictive amendment.

E-mail: adlmedia@adl.org

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.