Senate committee approves flag salute bill

CARSON CITY -- A bill requiring schools to set aside time at the start of each day for students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance has been approved by the Senate Human Resources and Facilities Committee.

AB144 moved Wednesday to the full Senate for approval. Assemblywoman Bonnie Parnell, D-Carson City, the bill's author, says she wrote AB144 because the pledge is not recited in many schools. She said she got hundreds of messages on the bill from people who want the pledge restored.

Parnell said the initial version of the bill was improperly written and read as if she opposed the Pledge of Allegiance. She said the opposite is true.

While the bill doesn't provide any exemptions from the pledge requirement, Parnell said U.S. Supreme Court decisions and existing laws permit Jehovah's Witnesses and other pupils to refuse to recite the pledge for matters of conscience.

A teacher for 21 years, Parnell said students can step out of the room or merely stand if they object to the recitation.

In other Senate action:

-SB289, allowing prayer meetings on campus, flyers about religious activities and lunchtime Bible study meetings, was approved by the full Senate and sent to the Assembly.

SB289, sponsored by Sen. Maurice Washington, R-Sparks, was criticized by the Nevada ACLU for meddling with a generally strong church-state separation in state law.

Supporters of the bill included the Nevada Eagle Forum, Nevada Concerned Citizens, Nevada Christian Coalition and several teen-age members of religious youth groups who said their schools often don't let them hand out flyers or make announcements about their events. They said the bill would help them reach others.

-SB420, extending gun-packing privileges to people who hold concealed weapons permits from other states, was endorsed on an 18-3 Senate vote and sent to the Assembly.

The bill requires permit holders to check in with a sheriff's office to get a sticker on their permit if their stay was longer than 72 hours.

Retired peace officers are exempt from having to apply for a concealed weapons permit, and the bill creates a badge those retired officers can purchase to show they are allowed to carry a concealed gun.

Voting "no" were senators Dina Titus, Maggie Carlton and Joe Neal, all from the Las Vegas area.

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