Senate Fights DOMA-stic Abuse
June 12, 2012 - Tuesday
Not everyone agrees with the court's assessment of marriage law--including the leaders who drafted it! Yesterday, 10 senators let the Ninth Circuit Court know, in no uncertain terms, how misguided they think the lower court's ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is. In an amicus brief they filed for the appeal, they took issue with how U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White characterized the members who fought for the law and urged the Ninth Circuit to reject his logic. Nothing, the senators write, "authorizes a court to strike down an otherwise constitutional law based on the belief that legislators individually, or the Congress as a whole, were motivate by 'animus'... Scouring the congressional record for sound bites to divine and disparage the motives of individual legislators also chills the freedom of legislative speech that is the hallmark of robust democratic debate."
Hopefully, the support of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Dan Coats (R-Ind.), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) will persuade the court to act more objectively in this next phase of the legal battle. To read the brief, click here. When you're done, contact these senators and let them know how much you appreciate their defense of the Defense of Marriage Act!
A Cry for HELP
It wasn't too long ago that homosexual activists said they just wanted "to get the government out of their bedroom." Now we know why: they wanted to put their bedroom in the workplace! Today, for the first time in three years, a Senate Committee agreed to hold a hearing on a bill that would create special employment protections for individuals based on their sexual behavior or orientation. At the very least, it will force people out of business. At its worst, it will bully into silence every American who disagrees with homosexual behavior.
If that doesn't frighten you, it should. Under the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (or ENDA), the government will put businesses on the defensive-- forcing them to explain why they didn't hire or promote employees who openly identified as gay, lesbian, or transgender. Essentially, Congress would be establishing a caste system, where the special protections of homosexuals trump the First Freedoms of any employer. Although some people defend it as an innocent piece of anti-prejudice legislation, ENDA builds the bridge to every last piece of the same-sex agenda--including marriage. "If we can get ENDA enacted and signed into law," the President's head of the Office of Management and Budget said, "it is only a matter of time before all the rest happens. It is the keystone that holds up the whole bunch, and so we need to focus our energies and attention there."
With it, the Left can take a hacksaw to every God-given freedom protected by the Constitution--including the ability to speak openly about your beliefs. Like the contraception-abortion mandate, it puts employers in the position of deciding between their faith and their jobs. And unlike past versions, this legislation would extend those special protections to transgenders. In other words, businesses and public organizations would have to bend their dress codes and change their bathroom and shower policies to accommodate men who dress like women and visa-versa. Can you imagine walking into your child's classroom and meeting a teacher dressed in drag?
Apparently, Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), and Susan Collins (R-Maine) can. They're the driving force behind today's Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing, which features the first-ever Senate testimony from a transgender witness. In a letter to Sen. Reid, demanding this debate, the four senators wrote, "Employees should be judged on their skills and abilities in the workplace--not their sexual orientation or gender identity." We agree. That's why these laws, giving them special protections, are unnecessary.
To help people understand exactly what's at stake, FRC produced an important documentary that your church, family, and friends need to see. It takes you behind the scenes of communities where laws like ENDA already exist and exposes how destructive the legislation will be, particularly to the faith community. In the video clip below, you'll hear from a Christian ministry that was ordered to conduct "homosexual sensitivity training" as a result of laws like this one. If President Obama is reelected, ENDA will almost certainly be his top priority. Do your part to protect true religious freedom. Contact the ranking members of the HELP Committee (right sidebar) and tell them to stop trying to punish employers with moral conviction.
** Is the Star Spangled Banner an Abomination? Talk show host Bill Press thinks so. Read Ken Blackwell's response to Bill in the Patriot Post just in time for Flag Day.