Moore files brief backing military support of Scouts

MONTGOMERY (AP) Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore has filed a brief in federal appeals court in Chicago supporting a congressional statute that allows the military to help the Boy Scouts of America hold a National Jamboree every four years.

The American Civil Liberties Union had filed a lawsuit (Winkler vs. Rumsfeld) saying the statute violates the Constitution's prohibition against government endorsement of religion because the Boy Scout oath acknowledges a duty to God.

A lower court ruled in favor of the ACLU and the case is being appealed to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.

Moore and the Foundation of Moral Law filed the brief Monday. The 35-page brief argues that the Constitution prohibits government from establishing a religion, but does not stop government from acknowledging God.

"The Department of Defense's support of the BSA National Scout Jamboree does not in any fashion represent the setting up of a state sponsored church," the brief said.

Moore was removed as Alabama's chief justice in 2003 for refusing a federal judge's order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the lobby of the Alabama Judicial Building.

Moore has announced he will be a candidate for governor in the Republican Primary in June.