Bruce Gleason, a resident of Villa Park, California, is leading a group of citizens to oppose Measure AA which, if passed, would place a plaque bearing the motto "In God We trust" in the city council chambers. He has created the website http://noonaa.info to make the case to the citizens of Villa Park to oppose this measure.

Villa Park is the only city to put this issue on the general ballot instead of the city council members voting for it or against it outright. Bruce Gleason, who founded and leads the Backyard Skeptics, a community of humanists, freethinkers and atheists and an affiliate of Atheists United, explains, "Asking the electorate to vote on this issue is an attempt to sidestep the real issue of the constitutionality of the motto. The majority of citizens might not have any objections to that motto, but it's the government's duty to preserve the rights of the minorities regardless of the opinion of the majority. This is a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the Constitution." Bruce Gleason continues, "This is not Christian Nation, nor a Hindu Nation, nor a Buddhist Nation. We are a nation governed by a Constitution that very plainly states that we shall make no law respecting a religion. The motto itself is a violation of that constitution."

The motto has been placed in many council chambers all over the state as a result of efforts of one woman, Jacqueline Sullivan, a Bakersfield city council member who started a letter-writing campaign with the stated mission "To promote patriotism by encouraging elected city officials to display our national motto ‘In God We Trust' in every city hall in America."

Stuart Bechman, president of Atheists United, a non-profit whose mission includes preserving the separation of government from religion, says, "Mrs. Sullivan is very plainly seeking to promote a religious agenda under the false pretense of patriotism. Most of these city councils have a majority of Christians sitting on the board who either aren't considering the Constitutional implications of displaying the motto or are jumping at the chance to take advantage of their position as city officials to promote their own religion under the guise of patriotism." Bechman continues, "These efforts serve the singular purpose of promoting the idea that the United States is a Christian nation and that non-Christians are second class citizens or not citizens at all."

No on AA Website: http://noonaa.info  
Backyard Skeptics Website: http://backyardskeptics.com  
Atheists United Website http://atheistsunited.org

Bruce Gleason-Backyard Skeptics
Stuart Bechman-President
Brian Parra- Director of Communications and Membership