Oklahoma bill: Honor 'under God' in the Pledge because of Ronald Reagan

Legislation introduced to the Oklahoma House of Representatives seeks to commemorate the addition of "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance by citing President Ronald Reagan and "our Christian heritage."

The resolution (pdf), introduced Monday by Republican state Rep. Sean Roberts, would symbolically recognize this year as the 60th anniversary of the addition of "under God" to the Pledge.

The bill notes that the Pledge of Allegiances was updated with the phrase in 1954 thanks to then-Sen. Homer Ferguson (R-MI). Ferguson believed "under God" needed to be added to the Pledge to show "one of the real fundamental differences between the free world and the Communist world, namely, belief in God," the resolution explains.

Roberts' bill also says Oklahoma should commemorate the addition of "under God" to the Pledge because of Reagan.

The resolution states: "WHEREAS, President Ronald Reagan said 'If we ever forget we are one nation under God, we will become a nation gone under'; and "WHEREAS, it is the policy of the Oklahoma House of Representatives to recognize and honor such an important date which strengthens the ties of history that bind us to our Christian heritage.

"NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 2ND SESSION OF THE 54TH OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE: THAT the Oklahoma House of Representatives recognizes the year 2014 as the 60th anniversary of the addition of the words 'under God' to the United States Pledge of Allegiance."

[A painting of President Ronald Reagan. Photo: Flickr user edalisse, creative commons licensed.]