U.S. Congress Members Send Letter to French Ambassador Opposing Religious Symbols Ban

February 7, 2004

Source: Sikh Coalition

http://www.sikhcoalition.org/pr.asp?mainaction=viewpr&prid=81

On February 7, 2004 the Sikh Coalition issued a press release that reported, "Over forty-five members of the United States Congress wrote to the French government today to express concern about a likely ban on religious articles of faith in French public schools. The letter, initiated by Representatives Michael Honda (D-CA) and Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), states that such a ban would force French school children to choose between their faith and their schooling. '[T]he proposed law threatens the religious rights of French children by forcing them to choose between school and religious practices that are central to their core values,' wrote the members of Congress in a letter addressed to France's Ambassador to the United States, Jean-David Levitte."