In Ohio’s 3rd congressional district, Democrat Jane Mitakides has been making strong gains on incumbent Republican Mike Turner. Part of the reason for the strong support for Mitakides is a general dissatisfaction with the failed Republican agenda.

Much of the strong showing for Mitakides also comes from the particular failings of Congressman Turner to represent the 3rd district effectively, however. Mike Turner has been so busy working to promote a right wing ideological agenda in Congress that he hasn’t achieved much for the district, or for his country, over the last couple of years.

An example of the trouble Representative Turner has gotten himself wrapped up in is H. R. 3779, the Andrew Larochelle God, Family, and Country Act. H.R. 3779 is a short piece of legislation with a big load of ideological baggage behind it. The law is intended to “To require the Architect of the Capitol to permit the acknowledgment of God on flag certificates.”

The legislation was written to support a political campaign begun by the Larochelles, the family of a boy scout who wanted to gain special recognition for religious beliefs included on a certificate, with the declaration that the flag was flown over the capitol building for the “love of God.”

The thing is that the First Amendment forbids this sort of thing. Congress cannot act to establish any religion. It’s not the job of Congress to certify citizens’ religious beliefs, and so Congress cannot certify that a flag was flown over the nation’s capitol for the love of God. Yet, that’s what the Larochelles were really asking for – an official sanction by Congress of worship of God, and an official congressional dedication of the flag of the United States of America to the Christian God.

The American flag is not a religious symbol. The flag represents the entire American nation, which is defined by the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution doesn’t mention God as a part of government. In fact, it establishes religion as a strictly private matter that government shouldn’t interfere in.

The Larochelles were seeking to separate the flag from the Constitution, and to make it a symbol of religious belief – and officially recognized by Congress as such. Congressman Mike Turner was more than happy to help them do this – and to try to use the boy scout as a tool to push religion as a wedge issue – when he introduced H.R. 3779.

That’s not just unconstitutional. It’s tacky to use a kid to try to attack the Constitution. Mike Turner ought to be using his time in Congress to work for the benefit of all Americans, not trying to promote a fringe theocratic agenda.

Sadly, Congressman Turner was not alone in his support of H.R. 3779. 119 other members of the House of Representatives joined with Turner to try to require Congress to turn the flag into a religious symbol. They just couldn’t resist the opportunity to use a boy scout as a political tool.

Their names are: