"God" left on flag certificates - UPDATED

UPDATE:

Rep. Mike Turner will award a U.S. flag and corrected certificate to Andrew Larochelle in Washington at noon on Tuesday. Larochelle, who is traveling to Capitol Hill with his family, will then present the flag to his grandfather.


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As of this week, anyone requesting a flag that has flown over the U.S. Captiol can use the word "God" in the dedication printed on the certificate accompanying the flag.

This may seem obvious, but earlier this year, the Architect of the Capitol had been enforcing a rule that prohibited expressions of religious faith on the certificates by deleting any mention of the word "God."

Andrew Larochelle, a 17-year-old student at Carroll High School in Dayton, had ordered a certificate that was supposed to say: "In honor of my grandfather Marcel Larochelle, and his dedication and love of God, country, and family."

But the word "God" was left of the message, prompting Larochelle to contact his congressman, Republican Mike Turner of Centerville.

Turner wrote letters to the Architect of the Capitol, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and President Bush calling for the policy to be repealed. He also introduced a bill to reverse the policy.

Yesterday , Pelosi announced that the policy had been overturned.

“We won a great victory for American traditions, religious freedoms and freedom of expression,” Turner said, thanking Larochelle for bringing the issue to his attention.

“If Andrew and his family had not been willing to challenge the Architect’s decision, we would not have this victory.”

Each year, about 100,000 people from across the country request one of these flags. The flags, which are each flown over the Capitol, are available for purchase through congressional offices.