....who realizes that his or her power comes from a mandate by the people, and that it isn't the states business to speculate whether or not "rights come from God."

As far as I remember it, western liberty (such as it is) came about from the aristocracy fearing M. Guillotine. Meanwhile the agents of the Christian god at the time were more or less willing to go along with the state... so I don't want to hear about how my rights come from any god, given that whenever I hear from a religious leader today they tend to want to be taking rights away, not hand them out.

CNN.com - Bush: Pledge ruling 'out of step' with America - June 27, 2002

Bush said the ruling from a panel with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in California ignored the fact that the Declaration of Independence acknowledged "we receive our rights from God." He said the court's decision was proof of the need for "common-sense judges" who "understand we derive our rights from God."