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n last week’s column, I talked about some states allowing non-citizens to vote. Several readers challenged this statement and at face value, I can certainly understand why.

It is a law that anyone voting in federal elections must be a U.S. citizen to cast their vote. All states have adopted the same law regarding state elections.

I was trying to make a couple of points and should have explained it better, so I have no issue with taking that responsibility now.

In states that do not require identification, it becomes pretty easy for someone to represent themselves as someone else. This opens the opportunity for a non-citizen to vote.

If only one vote is cast in such a scenario, that is one vote too many.

Federal law requires citizenship to vote in federal elections. Why can’t the law also require identification to do the same? The law also states that someone will not be punished if they “reasonably” thought they were a U.S. citizen when their vote was cast.

I don’t want to seem petty, but in some areas of Maryland, non-citizens can vote in local elections. Is this a big deal? Probably not. These areas enjoy giving non-citizens the opportunity to express their voice through the power of voting.

I do feel, however, that communities should help these individuals become citizens to give them more voting rights along with many other opportunities.

Personally, I have helped several people with gaining citizenship and was happy to do so. When you have goals, they can be reached with perseverance. If someone does their part to improve themselves and their family, I’ll be the first to jump in and give a hand.

The concern about immigration, voting rights, citizenship, etc., is not an attempt to persecute on the basis of religious beliefs as is often argued.

We live in a nation where we can worship or not — it’s a great freedom.

However, I feel, as a Christian, my religion is under attack daily. Why does this cause little concern?

I understand our country was built to allow religious freedom and did not establish a particular religion to govern us, but the three main documents that founded America were the Declaration of Independence, the Paris Peace Treaty of 1783 and the Constitution — all of which reference God on several occasions.

For a few centuries, this was not an issue, but it seems as though we are now trying to take God out of everything.

A well-known example of this is The Ten Commandments —  Thou shalt not kill; Thou shalt not steal; You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; Honor your father and mother. This is just a few of them and I see no problem here.

Look, we should all be following these 10 rules whether they came from the Bible or not.

I choose to follow them because they are in the Bible, which is me enjoying my religious freedom. At the same time, it’s about knowing the difference between right and wrong.

My house is essentially comprised of two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen and a few bathrooms. In the four main rooms you will find a Bible in each. I pray in my house because I can. But it shouldn’t stop there.

If I choose to pray in the department store, DMV, school or anywhere else, I should not be told I can’t. Trust me, we are getting close to such an America.

Some believe all of our founding documents mention God but only in reference to whom we should individually choose to worship. If this is indeed the case, then why are we in such a rush to take Him out of everything?

When we as a nation remember that we are indeed “one nation, under God,” many of our problems will begin to fade away.

As Ronald Reagan said, “Without God, there is no virtue because there’s no prompting of the conscience. And without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure. If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”

Political enthusiast Will Collins is a Kentucky native who has called Winchester home for nearly the past 20 years. He can be emailed at wrcollins@gmail.com.