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2001 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 493
Supporting the national motto of the United States.

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 22, 2001
Agreed to by the Senate, February 21, 2001

WHEREAS, the national motto of the United States of America, “In God We Trust,” was adopted in 1956 and is codified at 36 U.S.C.A. § 302; and

WHEREAS, the national motto reflects the traditional sentiment that Americans are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a supreme being; and

WHEREAS, the sentiment, “In God We Trust,” is deeply interwoven into the fabric of this nation’s civil polity; and

WHEREAS, the content of the national motto is as old as the republic itself and has always been an integral part of the First Amendment as the very words of that charter of religious liberty; and

WHEREAS, the Founding Fathers believed devotedly that there was a God and that the unalienable rights of man were rooted in Him is clearly evident in their writings, from the Mayflower Compact to the Constitution; and

WHEREAS, America’s national life reflects a religious people who earnestly pray that the Supreme Lawgiver guide them in every measure that may be worthy of His blessing; and

WHEREAS, the national motto appears on all coins and paper currency issued by the United States government; and

WHEREAS, the words, “In God We Trust,” are over the entrance to the United States Senate chamber and are prominently engraved in the wall above the Speaker’s dais in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives; and

WHEREAS, the national motto serves the secular purposes of fostering patriotism, expressing confidence in the future, inculcating hope, instructing in humility, encouraging the recognition of what is worthy of appreciation in society, and acknowledging the historical role of faith in the nation’s civil polity; and

WHEREAS, on July 24, 2000, the United States House of Representatives, by unanimous consent, resolved to encourage the display of the national motto in public buildings throughout the nation; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly (i) support the national motto of the United States, (ii) adopt the sentiment of the national motto, and (iii) support and encourage the public display of the national motto in all public buildings, public schools and other government institutions in Virginia.