WARREN COUNTY, NJ (August 22, 2002) - Condemning a federal appeals court decision that labeled the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional, the Warren County Board of Chosen Freeholders backed continued use of the phrase "under God" in the Pledge and honored a group of residents who are bringing attention to the issue.

The Freeholders adopted a resolution Wednesday night blasting the recent decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit regarding the Pledge of Allegiance.

"That outraged many millions of Americans, who immediately responded" by letting their elected officials and the federal judiciary know how they felt, said Freeholder Director Michael J. Doherty.

In Warren County, a group of citizens sprang into action and raised money to post billboards showing how important the phrase is to our American heritage, Doherty said.

The Freeholder Board presented Certificates of Merit to three County residents who worked to raise the billboards. "I just want to let you ladies know we’re very proud of what you’ve done," Doherty said as project organizer Marguerite Hansen of Lopatcong Township, Barbara Brown of Phillipsburg and Gail Williams of Lopatcong, co-workers at an Easton, Pa., company, accepted the Certificates.

The trio, along with help from other friends, has raised nearly $8,000 and gotten two billboards up on Route 22, one in Warren County and the other near Allentown, Pa.

Hansen said four more billboards are being erected.

The billboards, with a background of the Stars and Stripes, contain the words "I pledge allegiance…‘Under God’ " along with phrase "Call Your State Representative Today."

"We couldn’t do it without the donations," said Hansen, who has been on television, radio and in newspaper stories to promote the effort to protect the wording of the Pledge. The group is continuing to collect donations to fund the billboards, Hansen noted, adding, "We just want to keep them up as long as we can."

After presenting the certificates, Doherty and Freeholder John DiMaio unveiled a red, white and blue, 2-by-8-foot poster bearing the words "One Nation Under God" that will be displayed in the Freeholder Meeting Room.

"I felt honored that they invited us and did that," Brown said after the meeting, while Williams remarked, "It was wonderful."

The Freeholder Board resolution notes that from this nation’s inception, references to the Deity and the Deity’s importance "have been included in our most sacred founding documents and political statements, from the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Speech, and through the current crisis of September 11." The phrase "one Nation under God" has been "an unchallenged and cherished part of the Pledge of Allegiance and has been part of the fabric of Warren County life for almost 50 years," the resolution states.

Although the First Amendment to the US Constitution states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, "references to Deity in official government documents, speeches and mottoes, including the Pledge of Allegiance, have been a long established tradition and manifestly do not constitute the meaning of ‘an establishment of religion’ as intended by the Founding Fathers," the resolution further states.

"Our rights come from God, not man," Doherty said. Speaking of the court decision, DiMaio noted that "if unchecked, it erodes the basic premise of what we’re about."

The resolution urges all elected officials in Warren County to do whatever they can to nullify the court’s decision, and encourages all schools in the county to continue reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in its current form.

It also vows to post the Pledge in the freeholder meeting room of the Wayne Dumont, Jr. Administration Building until the end of the year to demonstrate the Board’s commitment.

Anyone interested in learning more about the billboard drive or contributing can visit the group’s web site, www.americaundergod.us. Donations can be sent to the:

Warren County Freeholders John DiMaio (left) and Michael Doherty display a poster that will hang in the Freeholder Meeting Room demonstrating the Board's support for keeping the Pledge of Allegiance unchanged. The freeholders are flanking a trio of Warren County residents - Gail Williams, Barbara Brown and Marguerite Hansen (l-r) - who have been raising money to erect billboards drawing attention to the issue.