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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Herb
Silverman is an atheist who wants to
be a notary public. South Carolina
won’t allow it
Silverman contends that’s because
he refuses to acknowledge God, a re
quirement in the state constitution for
all public officers. So Thursday he took
his case to a higher authority — the
state Supreme Court.
The battle is about more than just
being a notary public, with the author
ity to witness signatures and, in this
state, even preside at weddings.
Silverman, a 54-year-old math profes
sor at the College of Charleston, says
it’s the first step in fighting for athe
ists’ rights in a Bible Belt state.
“The first thing people ask you
when you move here is what church
you go to, and when you tell them that
you don’t believe in God, all of a sud
den you don’t have many friends,” said
Silverman, a Philadelphia native who
moved to South Carolina in 1976.
A lower court judge sided with
Silverman, throwing out the
constitution’s “God clause.”
The state appealed, contending the
case isn’t about religion. Silverman,
who crossed out the word God in “so
help me God,” should not have crossed
out any word on the notary application,
and besides, he did not have enough
of the required signatures on his sec
ond application, the state’s lawyers say.
“If the word 'protect,’ 'preserve’ or
'defend,’ had been struck from the ap
plication, the result would have been
exactly the same,” state lawyer Brad
Waring told justices.
Secretary of State Jim Miles did
return the application initially because
Silverman had removed the word
“God” from it, Waring said earlier.
When Silverman resubmitted the ap
plication to then-Gov. Carroll
Campbell, it also had "God” crossed
out, but was returned also because he
was short al legislative signature, War
ing said.
Under the state’s complex rules for
becoming a notary public, Silverman
actually had the required number of
legislators’ signatures—eight—at the
time of his first application. But redis
tricting had changed the required num
ber to nine, and when his second ap
plication was rejected he opted to take
the whole matter to court.
Since 1868, South Carolina’s Con
stitution has declared: “No person who
denies the existence of the Supreme
Being shall hold any office under this
Constitution.”
As a state-sanctioned official, a
notary public swears in the application
to fulfill the duties of the office, and
protect and defend the state and U.S.
constitutions “so help me God.”
In 1961, the U.S. Supreme Court
ruled that states cannot require consti
tutional officers to profess a belief in
God.
Clinton readies for debate
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP)—Presi
dent Clinton’s political advisers are
sending their boss off to a pre-de
bate hideaway with three thoughts
for Sunday night: Keep it simple,
keep it safe and - above all - keep
your cool.
The debate is the first of two
head-to-head meetings that Repub
lican Bob Dole hopes will shrink the
president’s double-digit lead in na
tional polls. Mindful of the stakes,
Clinton was flying Thursday to a
scenic think tank in western New
York for three days of rest, recre
ation and preparation.
The goal is for Clinton to look
presidential and deferential without
looking too defensive - and with
out making a lead-blowing mistake.
Campaign press secretary Joe
Lockhart described Clinton as ea
ger to resume debate preparations
interrupted by the two-day Middle
East summit.
“He’s frankly apprehensive,
given the head start Sen. Dole has
had for the last five days,” Lockhart
said.
The president’s political brain
trust expects Dole to be highly criti
cal of Clinton, with their boss most
vulnerable to questions about
Whitewater-related controversies,
his integrity, drug policies and taxes.
They think Dole also will ques
tion the economy’s strength, accuse
the president of demonizing Repub
licans over Medicare and criticize
his foreign policies — especially
with the Middle East peace process
offtrack.
The drug issue dominated
Dole’s campaign leading into the
debate after the Clinton administra
tion claimed executive privilege in
refusing to release an FBI report
critical of his anti-drug policies.
One of the campaign’s greatest
fears is that Clinton flaiies his tem
per to the national audience. A few
aides are drafting questions de
signed to anger the president in de
bate preparation so he gets it out of
his system. An example: Mr. Presi
dent, the press has done a fine job
uncovering the Whitewater affair
and other controversies - why the
ethical lapses?
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/,5uU troops to stay in Bosnia
WASHINGTON (AP) — About
7,500 U.S. troops will remain in Bosnia
until March, the nation’s top general
. told lawmakers today.
The latest Pentagon plan for the *
withdrawal of the 15,000-member U.S.
troop contingent in Bosnia will require
sending in 5,000 more as a “covering
force” to help the withdrawing forces.
Gen. John Shalikashvili, chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the
Senate Aimed Services Committee that
a total of 7,500 U.S. soldiers would
stay in Bosnia until mid-March, a larger
figure than the Pentagon provided in
earner statements.
“By 20 December we expect to be
down to a force of 10,000 Americans,
7,500 covering and 2,500 withdraw
ing,” Shalikashvili said.
Republicans on the committee
complained of a “credibility gap” be
tween the Clinton administration and
Congress in light of repeated state
ments last year that the U.S. military
mission in Bosnia would be over by
Dec. 20.
Russian, Chechen leaders sign accord
MOSCOW (AP) — Top Russian
and Chechen leaders took what Prime
Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin called
a “big step forward” in the peace, pro
cess today, signing a statement aimed
at permanently settling the devastating
war in Chechnya.
The signing came at the end of talks
involving Chechen rebel leader
Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, who was vis
iting Moscow for the first time since a
truce was agreed to six weeks ago.
It gives new momentum to peace
efforts that have largely been stalled
since the signing of that accord, crafted
by national security chief Alexander
Lebed.
Earlier today, President Boris
Yeltsin endorsed the accord for the first
time since it was signed Aug. 23. His
support came a day after Lebed’s plan
was Masted in Parliament
THURSDAY
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