Legislative
Update
10/03/2003
THE
SENATE
PROTECTING
MARRIAGE
Back
on September 4, 2003 Senator
John Cornyn (R-TX)
chaired a hearing
titled, "What is
Needed to Defend the
Bipartisan Defense of
Marriage Act of
1996?" Senator
Cornyn is the chairman
of the Senate
Subcommittee on the
Constitution, Civil
Rights and Property
Rights. Although the
hearing drew relatively
little media attention
it touched upon an
important issue, the
viability of the Defense
of Marriage Act of 1996
(DOMA)
As
chairman of the
Religious Freedom
Coalition I worked very
hard to have DOMA passed
by the House and Senate.
There was tremendous
pressure from the media
and the far left to kill
the bill. Those opposed
included the ACLU, the
National Organization
for Women, People for
the American Way and a
vast number of
homosexual groups. Once
on the floor for a vote
not many Senators or
congressmen wanted to
side with the homosexual
minions who opposed it.
As a result the Senate
passed DOMA 85-14 and
the House passed it
342-76. As these were
veto proof votes,
President Bill Clinton
was forced to sign DOMA
into law.
DOMA
had two major sections.
First and foremost DOMA
defined marriage for
federal purposes as
being between one man
and one woman. Secondly
DOMA stated that no
state was required to
honor a "same
sex" marriage
license from another
state. Thus if Hawaii or
Vermont were to issue a
marriage license to a
"same sex"
couple no other state
would be forced to
recognize it. Numerous
states passed their own
versions of DOMA
defining marriage as
between one man and one
woman. (See
Senator Conryn's
statement.)
But
in America the laws
passed by elected
members of state
legislators and the
Congress mean very
little anymore. Tired
old men in long black
robes who have been
appointed for life now
determine the laws of
the land. Knowing this,
the liberals and the
homosexuals immediately
challenged various
aspects of the DOMA at
the state level. At the
time we passed DOMA we
were warned by legal
scholars that Federal
courts and perhaps the
Supreme Court would
invalidate it at some
future time. Since the
Supreme Court decision
in Lawrence v. Texas
legalized sodomy that
time is now near. Thus
the need for Senate
hearings conducted by
Senator Cronyn. While
some believe DOMA will
prevail, most believe it
will fall to court
challenge. (SEE MORE
ON MARRIAGE IN THE HOUSE
SECTION)
DC
VOUCHERS
Several
months ago Mayor
Anthony Williams and
President George W. Bush
held a press conference
at the Kipp Academy in
Washington, DC which I
attended and reported
on. The purpose was
to promote a small
experiment to allow kids
in the failing DC
schools to have the same
choice of schools as do
the kids of congressmen
and Senators. The idea
was to issue 2,000
vouchers to low-income
kids in those failing
schools. Washington, DC
spends $12,046 per child
compared to an average
of $7,079 nationwide and
still lags back at last
place in virtually
everything from SAT
scores to reading
ability at fourth grade
level. President George
W. Bush is a strong
supporter of school
choice.
It
has become a number one
priority of the NEA (the
huge national teachers'
union) to stop this
program. They fear that
if it works the idea
will spread and the
monopoly they have on
the nation's schools
will be lost. The NEA is
willing to spend
millions of dollars to
lobby against this small
program. Their campaign
went so well that the DC
vouchers passed the
House by just one vote.
Senator Ted Kennedy led
the fight in the Senate
to stop the vouchers.
Two liberal Senators,
Feinstein (D-CA) and
Landrieu (D-LA) have
been swayed by Mayor
Anthony Williams to vote
for the vouchers.
Yesterday a final vote
was put off until next
week. I have high hopes
for the bill now.
THE
HOUSE
MARRIAGE
PROTECTION
The
reaction to freshman
Congresswoman Marilyn
Musgrave's proposed
Amendment to the
Constitution to protect
marriage has split the
conservative community
in Washington, DC. The
original problem began
because the language of
the amendment was never
presented to or
discussed with more than
a handful of
conservative leaders
before it was officially
proposed. It was
presented as "Here
it is, support it,"
with virtually no
discussion. Many groups
found the second
paragraph of the
amendment a major
problem because it
specifically tells
states that they don't
have to, but that they
may, enact civil unions
or give benefits to same
sex unions. Thus the
Amendment says that
marriage is for one man
and one woman only, but
two men may have a civil
union and receive all
the rights and benefits
of marriage if so
granted by a state as
long as it is called
something else. This was
added to satisfy
economic conservative
groups that are strongly
in favor of states'
rights, but had the
effect of turning away
key social conservative
groups. Some groups who
support the language
claim the second section
does not have that
effect. That is the
problem. The Amendment
was originally written
by Judge Robert Bork to
mimic current
constitutional language.
It is a very short
amendment and I believe
in the future can be
reinterpreted by judges
who may find a
"conflict"
between it and other
articles of the
Constitution.
Next
week the major
conservative groups
including the RFC will
meet to iron out their
differences on the
Amendment and perhaps
more specific language
will be added.
There
will be a Marriage
Protection press
conference at the National
Press Club here in
Washington on Thursday
morning where every
major group supporting
marriage between one man
and one woman will be
represented. I will
speak on behalf of the
Religious Freedom
Coalition. It is my
prayer, and I hope yours
also, that a consensus
language on a
Constitutional Amendment
will be reached by the
various conservative
groups prior to the news
conference.
Dissension
among conservatives on
the Federal
Marriage Amendment
is causing great
displeasure at the White
House and
Republican Party
headquarters. The
Republican Party
chairman, Ed
Gillespie, wants
opposition to homosexual
"marriage" to
be a major part of the
Republican platform in
2004. Polls show the
vast majority of
Americans oppose
homosexual marriage. Mr.
Gillespie understands
that social
conservatives are
energized by this issue
and will vote next
November for the party
that stands up for the
traditional institution
of marriage. But, as of
now, there is no
rallying point because
of the division among
conservative groups over
amendment language.
Perhaps next week's
meetings among
conservative groups will
change that. (For
general reference:
Bill
Bennett's The Broken
Hearth.)
HOUSES
OF WORSHIP FREE SPEECH
ACT
Congressman
Walter Jones now has 161
cosponsors for the Houses
of Worship Free Speech
Act (HR 235). A special
Internet site set up
to support the bill
states: "HR 235 was
introduced to liberate
clergy from the muzzle
imposed by the absolute
ban on all speech that
may be regarded as
"political,"
and thereby enable them
to speak out on all
vital moral and
political questions of
the day. It will free
houses of worship from
the fear and anxiety and
uncertainty created by
the threat that the IRS
will impose financial
penalties or revoke
tax-exempt status
altogether." The
RFC has prepared a
downloadable MS Power
Point presentation in
support of the HR 235.
Click here to view Power
Point. If your
congressman has not
co-sponsored this
important legislation
please contact him. View
a list of current
congressional sponsors here.
Please contact your
congressman if he has
not signed on as a
co-sponsor with
Congressman Jones.
THE
PRESIDENCY
SEX
TRADE
To
the surprise of many
European leaders, President
George W. Bush came
down hard on the sex
trafficking industry
during his speech to the
United Nations this past
week. His comments were
a direct insult to many
European Union nations
who call prostitutes
"sex workers"
and offer them
government benefits
rather than jail cells.
It is nations such as
France and Germany who
have fueled sex
trafficking and sex
slavery by legalizing
prostitution. We applaud
the President for
publicly addressing this
evil practice at the
United Nations General
Assembly. Below are the
President's comments:
There's
another humanitarian
crisis spreading, yet
hidden from view. Each
year, an estimated
800,000 to 900,000
human beings are
bought, sold or forced
across the world's
borders. Among them
are hundreds of
thousands of teenage
girls, and others as
young as five, who
fall victim to the sex
trade. This commerce
in human life
generates billions of
dollars each year --
much of which is used
to finance organized
crime.
There's
a special evil in the
abuse and exploitation
of the most innocent
and vulnerable. The
victims of sex trade
see little of life
before they see the
very worst of life --
an underground of
brutality and lonely
fear. Those who create
these victims and
profit from their
suffering must be
severely punished.
Those who patronize
this industry debase
themselves and deepen
the misery of others.
And governments that
tolerate this trade
are tolerating a form
of slavery. -
President George W.
Bush (SEE
FULL REMARKS)
RELIGION
OF PEACE
The
rhetoric from the White
House declaring Islam as
a "religion of
peace" has somewhat
subsided. This phrase
has irritated me since
the 9-11 Jihad attack
against us. Osama bin
Laden is a real follower
of Mohammed and a true
Muslim. A "moderate
Muslim" is sort of
like a
"pro-abortion
Catholic," in other
words, not really a
Muslim at all. Shortly
after 9-11, I called on
the government to
examine the security
clearance of all Muslims
who were associated with
Mosques that had radical
Imams. I was ridiculed
by the establishment.
The FBI, CIA and the
military actually
recruited Muslim
translators for
sensitive work after
9-11. I found this very
odd considering that of
the 7 million Americans
of Arab descent, 6
million are Christians
and only 1 million are
Muslims. Why not hire
Christians who speak
Arabic?
Now
we are faced with the
results. A
Muslim Captain in the US
Army is under arrest
as is an Airman; both
are under suspicion of
espionage. At least two
more Muslims are under
investigation for
espionage. At the
beginning of the Iraq
war a Muslim in our army
tossed a grenade into a
tent full of officers,
killing two. Still the
military, the FBI and
the CIA recruit Muslims
as translators rather
than Arab Christians. I
guess we must remain
politically correct even
if it costs us the
security of our troops
and of our nation.
William
J Murray, Chairman
Religious
Freedom Coalition
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