Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: 6-year-old atheist sues Girl Scouts over pledge Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 15:23:03 EST Message-ID: \SE A;NATION \SS (WS) \HD 6-year-old atheist sues Girl Scouts over pledge \BY ASSOCIATED PRESS \DT SAN DIEGO SAN DIEGO (AP) - A 6-year-old girl and her father are suing the Girl Scouts of America, saying the organization violates the girl's rights by requiring her to recite a pledge containing a reference to God. Nitzya Cuevas Macias, who says she is an atheist, claims in the lawsuit filed Tuesday that the "Girl Scout promise" is a "religious test oath." The girl and her father, Salvador Cuevas Macias, want a judge to force the organization to continue allowing the child to participate in Scouting events but without requiring her to recite the pledge. The promise says, in part, "I will try to serve God and my country." A Superior Court judge issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday preventing the group from canceling meetings. The girl's family claims Scout leaders canceled a meeting last week to prevent her from attending. In a letter, the national executive director of the Girl Scouts of America, Patricia Winterer, said the organization does not require members to swear an oath or allegiance to God. The lawsuit was filed by Orange County lawyer James Randall, who successfully sued the Boy Scouts of America on behalf of his two sons. A judge ruled in June that the Boy Scouts couldn't exclude the boys for refusing to recite an oath containing the word "God." This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM