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发帖数: 897 | 1 WILMINGTON, Del. -- Republican Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell of
Delaware on Tuesday questioned whether the U.S. Constitution calls for a
separation of church and state, appearing to disagree or not know that
the First Amendment bars the government from establishing religion.
The exchange came in a debate before an audience of legal scholars and
law students at Widener University Law School, as O'Donnell criticized
Democratic nominee Chris Coons' position that teaching creationism in
public school would violate the First Amendment by promoting religious
doctrine.
Coons said private and parochial schools are free to teach creationism
but that "religious doctrine doesn't belong in our public schools."
"Where in the Constitution is the separation of church and state?"
O'Donnell asked him.
When Coons responded that the First Amendment bars Congress from making
laws respecting the establishment of religion, O'Donnell asked: "You're
telling me that's in the First Amendment?"
Her comments, in a debate aired on radio station WDEL, generated a buzz
in the audience.
"You actually audibly heard the crowd gasp," said Widener University
political scientist Wesley Leckrone, adding that he thought it raised
questions about O'Donnell's grasp of the Constitution. |
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