WHDH-TV Boston, reports that parents are suing an Acton, Mass. school district to remove the words “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance, on the grounds that they discriminates against atheists.
The attorney for the parents, David Niose, said that the offending wording “suggests that people who don’t believe in God are less patriotic than others, and that’s just not the truth. Humanists and atheists are citizens, they pay their taxes, they get good grades.”
Dr. Stephen Mills, superintendent of the Acton-Boxborough school district, told WCVB-TV, Boston: “There’s absolutely no recrimination, no negative consequences ever against a child who chooses not to say the pledge, or in this particular case, simply say the pledge and not say the words under God.” Mills said he is obligated by state law to have students say the pledge.
The case, which began a year and a half ago, is expected to reach the Massachusetts Supreme Court by the fall.
