Courtesy: Dunwoody Councilman John Heneghan
The swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday, January 3, 2012.
DUNWOODY, Ga. -- Like many other elected leaders across Georgia, members of the Dunwoody City Council gave their oath that they are not members of the Communist Party during a swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday night.
It was part of the Georgia Loyalty Oath administered by Georgia Supreme Court Justice David Nahmias of Dunwoody.
"I do hereby solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United Sates and the Constitution of Georgia and that I am not a member of the Communist Party, so help me God," they said in repeating the oath.
The Georgia Loyalty Oath dates back to 1949, during the Cold War.
According to the law, the oath is supposed to be taken by all state, county and city employees in Georgia.
Dunwoody City Councilman John Heneghan raised questions about the oath in his blog on Wednesday. He said it's outdated and suggested that state lawmakers should consider getting rid of the Communist Party reference.
Turns out, former Georgia Secretary of State Max Cleland had his own questions about the oath in 1985. He asked the State Attorney General at the time, Mike Bowers, to issue an opinion on whether it's Constitutional.
"The portion of the Georgia loyalty oath which requires one to disavow membership in the Communist Party is violative of the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution and should not be administered," Bowers wrote in the Opinion.
It's unclear what, if anything, Cleland did with Bowers' opinion. The Communist Party reference remains in the Georgia Code.
Here is a look at the full text of the Georgia Loyalty Oath:
TITLE 45. PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES
CHAPTER 3. OFFICIAL OATHS AND COMMISSIONS
ARTICLE 1. OFFICIAL OATHS
O.C.G.A. § 45-3-11 (2011)
§ 45-3-11. Loyalty oath -- Persons required to take oath generally
All persons who are employed by and are on the payroll of the state and are the recipients of wages, per diem, or salary of the state or its
departments and agencies, with the exception of pages employed by the General Assembly, and all counties and cities, school districts, and local educational systems throughout the entire state, are required to take an oath that they will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Georgia, and that they are not members of the Communist Party.