THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

38

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

Requesting the full pledge of allegiance be recited before the start of THE senate and house floor session ON THE FIRST SESSION DAY OF THE WEEK.

 

WHEREAS, Francis Bellamy wrote the original Pledge of Allegiance in August 1892 for the quadricentennial celebration of Columbus Day; and

WHEREAS, the Pledge started as a simple public school program structured around a flag raising ceremony and a flag salute; and

WHEREAS, Bellamy stated that the Pledge began as an intensive communing with salient points of our national history, from the Declaration of Independence onwards to the makings of the Constitution, from the meaning of the Civil War to the aspiration of the people; and

WHEREAS, Bellamy believed the true reason for allegiance to the flag is the 'republic for which it stands.' The Republic is a political word for the Nation – the One Nation which the Civil War was fought to prove; and

WHEREAS, the pledge has become one of the most preeminent symbols of American unity and serves as a collective public expression of patriotism for the United States of America; and

WHEREAS, in 1942, the United States Congress officially recognized the pledge, slightly modifying the text in 1954; and

WHEREAS, the wording of the Pledge is set in the US Code at 35 USC 172; and

WHEREAS, in the United States Congress both the House and Senate begin their sessions with the Pledge; and

WHEREAS, the Pledge can unite all Americans of all backgrounds; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Pledge of Allegiance be respectfully recited at the beginning of the floor session of the Senate and House on the first session day of the week; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the Hawaii State Senate and House of Representatives are requested to adopt the following guidelines during the recitation of the Pledge: the Pledge shall be rendered by standing at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. When not in military uniform, men should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Persons in uniform should remain silent, face the flag, and render the military salute; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House will be requested to lead the recital of the Pledge of Allegiance in their respective houses; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance be added to the Order of Business of each house, prior to the invocation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chief Clerk of the Hawaii State Senate, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives, Speaker of the House, and the Senate President.

 

Report Title:

Reciting Pledge of Allegiance before floor session