Evangelicals who opposed the amendment worried that if the bill passed, students from a minority faith might be subjected to the prayers or scriptures of a state or district's majority faith.
Complicating matters for the White House, the amendment has the support of a number of Republicans, including Sens. Olympia Snowe (Maine), John McCain (Ariz)., Charles Grassley (Iowa) and David Vitter (La).. Opponents of the amendment worry that many more Republicans may join the amendment not because they agree with it, but because they want to put the health care bill in jeopardy.
And the rush to repeal has opened Republicans to the same attacks they employed so devastatingly on Democrats — that despite promises to run a more open House, Republicans are racing to overturn the health care law without hearings, without allowing floor amendments and without worrying about its impact on the federal deficit.
Some First Amendment experts worry that criminalizing speech about symbols is a dangerous business and is reminiscent of laws against flag burning that the Supreme Court has held unconstitutional.
Or maybe Founders like Jefferson, in crafting the 2nd Amendment, were worried that if they didn't own guns, they wouldn't be able to enforce their ownership of another race.
The passage of dubious constitutional amendments in Hungary is worrying.
Many people seemed to want to vote "No" on Saturday, against the constitutional amendments that they worry will lead to an overly powerful presidency.
When the framers drafted these amendments, they were worried that Congress would have too little power to get the job done, not too much.
(The Democrats had been more split, some worrying that the amendment would wipe out hard-won but ultimately counterproductive laws protecting women from things like working overtime or lifting heavy objects).
Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition, is worried about the suppression of speech by those who disagree with it.
