 |
          
  |
|
|
|
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), introduced in April and scheduled for a hearing on September 5, would create new privileged classes under the guise of prohibiting employment discrimination based on "sexual orientation” and “gender identity.” Far from guaranteeing constitutional rights to a discriminated race or gender, this bill would grant special privileges to those who participate in homosexual activity and heap more intrusive regulations on businesses and organizations, including some religious organizations.
There are a number of serious problems with ENDA. Many employers who have religious objections to hiring homosexuals or transgenders would be prohibited from refusing to hire such a person based on those beliefs. Furthermore, many who have suffered real discrimination based on immutable characteristics such as race or gender, see adding sexual orientation as a protected class as an insult to what they suffered and achieved in the civil rights movement. Finally, if passed, ENDA could help make gay marriage and civil union legislation all the more likely.
Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), one of the most liberal members of Congress, has introduced the bill in the House (H.R. 2015), and it is now in several House committees. With heavy support from labor unions a similar bill will surely be proposed in the Senate so concerned citizens should be watchful. While churches are exempt from ENDA, other religious organizations are not, resulting in serious assaults to freedom of religion. Call your representative today and urge him or her to vote “No” on H.R. 2015, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)!
As if the need for a constitutional amendment protecting traditional marriage from the rulings of activist judges were not already apparent, a county judge in Iowa has just overturned the state’s Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) ruling that gay couples must be allowed to wed. The ruling proves that legislation alone is insufficient to protect against homosexual marriage. Several states have passed marriage protection amendments (many by large majorities), and it increasingly becomes apparent that a federal version will be necessary as well.
 
For more information on protecting traditional marriage check the AdvanceUSA marriage page.
This
video tells the story of Joe and Helen Roberts in Britain who were given a stern
warning by police for politely voicing their opposition to the active promotion
of homosexuality by their local government. Their story is frightening
evidence of why hate crimes laws such as S. 1105 (now in the Senate) should not
be passed in America.
Though S. 1105 may or may not directly threaten speech in the pulpit (there is
still some debate among legal experts), hate crimes laws will no doubt lead to
the adoption of “hate speech” monitoring or laws which would directly obstruct
the rights of Christians to share biblical truth.
Hate
crimes laws also violate the principle of “equal justice under law” by
prosecuting criminals who commit the same crimes differently based solely on
perceived internal beliefs. For more information on hate crimes click
here.
Over at Bench
Memos, NRO’s blog on judicial matters, Ed Whelan addresses several of the
unjust allegations and distortions leveled at Judge Leslie Southwick (President
Bush’s well-qualified, originalist nominee for the 5th Circuit
Court).
Excerpt
from an INVESTOR'S
BUSINESS DAILY article on the nomination of Judge Southwick:
Perhaps concerned with claims he's "not black
enough," Barack Obama plays the race card in the judicial nomination of
Leslie Southwick. That may score points with liberal activists, but it
shouldn't with fair-minded voters.
Click
here to read the full article.
 Tuesday afternoon AdvanceUSA, along with educators,
community leaders, and education advocates, attended the “Compassion in Action
Roundtable” sponsored by the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community
Initiatives. The topic of the roundtable was “Real Choices for
Educational Improvement: How Faith-Based and Community Organizations Help
Bridge the Achievement Gap.”
A number
of government, church, educational, and community leaders shared success
stories of rising test scores and parental satisfaction because of the
intervention of faith-based and community organizations. Among the
speakers were Bishop William Lori who spoke about the dramatic improvements in
inner city schools in Bridgeport,
Connecticut as well as Sally
Sachar, Virginia Walden-For, and Chris Kelly who highlighted the DC Opportunity
Scholarship Program which benefits low income families in the nation’s capital.
AdvanceUSA
was pleased to hear several speakers emphasize the need for school
choice. Two general categories of school choice were discussed.
Vouchers are direct payments by the government to parents or
schools in order to provide for students’ private or public education thus
providing more options than just the local school district.
Tax Credits allow parents to deduct some or all of their tuition
payments from their taxes, or they give individuals or businesses a tax credit
for contributing to a non-public school scholarship fund. Some school
choice advocates prefer this method as it minimizes government involvement in
private school affairs.
The U.S.
Department of Education’s new report entitled “Education Options in the States:
State Programs that Provide Financial Assistance for Attendance at Private
Elementary or Secondary Schools” was also highlighted at the event and can
be read online here.
AdvanceUSA
hopes this interesting and inspiring meeting will help advance the cause of
school choice for parents and further improve the state of education in America through
the efforts of faith-based and community initiatives.
For more
information on school choice ideas check the AdvanceUSA pro-family page.
Last
November, a dangerous and deceptive amendment to the Missouri constitution was narrowly approved
by voters (51% - 49%). The amendment claimed to ban cloning but in fact
created a constitutional right to clone human embryos as long as they were
killed for their stem cells before 14 days of development. So cloning of
the “therapeutic” variety is actually legal in Missouri at this time.
Yesterday
morning a new amendment was proposed by the group Cures Without Cloning.
The proposed amendment would close the glaring loopholes in last year’s
amendment by clarifying the definition of cloning so that it is scientifically
accurate and so that it protects all innocent human life. The St. Louis
Post-Dispatch reports
here. Cures Without Cloning must obtain approximately 150,000
signatures in order to place the amendment on the 2008 ballot, but Missouri pro-lifers are
convinced that with the truth on their side they will see human cloning truly
banned in their state.
Some Missouri bloggers
covering this story are Rodney Albert at Press
On and the folks at Missourinet.
UPDATE:
More Missouri
bloggers will be linked here as blog posts on this issue become available:
UPDATE
2: Noted
bioethicist Wesley J. Smith exposes
an incident of media distortion regarding the new Missouri amendment on his
blog.
We can expect similar distortion from many (but not all) major news media
sources concerning the Missouri
anti-cloning movement in the days ahead.
UPDATE 3: David Freddoso at NRO has a
particularly helpful summary in his piece entitled ‘Third
Clone War: Missouri measure would repeal “right to clone”.’
For more
information on human cloning (including helpful diagrams) and the conflicts in Missouri check the
AdvanceUSA Missouri Cloning page.
Also, check the Cures Without Cloning
website.
To listen
to a recording of yesterday’s press conference click
here. To read the text of the new amendment click here
or continue reading.
AP report excerpt:
Ralph Neas is stepping down as president of People for the American Way, a liberal organization that has fought President Bush's conservative judicial nominations.
"I just feel this is the time to make a move," Neas, 61, said Friday.
As this Washington Post article mentions, Ralph Neas and People for the American [Liberal] Way led the obstruction efforts and eventual defeat of Judge Robert Bork's nomination to the Supreme Court in 1987, and continue to obstruct important judicial nominees to this day.
Ralph Neas, President of People for the American Way, photo source
For more information on the critically important issue of judicial nominations check the AdvanceUSA pro-justice page or click here.
A new Barna poll finds that the issue of most concern to American voters is their children. While our friends on the left no doubt will see this as evidence the American people want bigger government, hopefully it will provide motivation for political candidates to show how conservatism truly benefits our nation and our children.
On Saturday, September 15 young people across the nation will arm themselves with scrub brushes, soap suds, and hoses and do battle for the pro-life cause. The second annual Wash for Life recruits young people to hold car washes around the country. The funds raised from the car washes will go to local crisis pregnancy centers which do such great work lovingly supporting pregnant women contemplating an abortion and helping them make the choice for life. Help activate the next generation of pro-lifers and show your support for pregnancy centers by getting your car washed at a Wash for Life car wash on September 15 or by organizing a Wash for Life in your area.
For more information check the Wash for Life website. If you would like help organizing a car wash near you, contact the Wash for Life staff at info@washforlife.org or you can call (703) 405-5783 or (704) 241-7171.
Please participate in this important pro-life endeavor! With a small investment of time or money you can help activate the next generation of pro-lifers and help stop abortion one life at a time by providing pregnant mothers with the resources and encouragement to choose life.
What you can do:
- Get your car washed by a Wash for Life car wash team.
- Help organize a Wash for Life car wash in your neighborhood.
- Recruit young people to wash cars on September 15.
Judge
Leslie Southwick was nominated by the President to sit on the 5th Circuit
Court of Appeals, but liberal groups have tried to slander his character by blatantly
distorting two past judicial decisions which he joined, out of the thousands he
has participated in. The Washington Post’s
recent editorial counters
the baseless liberal accusations and highlights his sterling qualifications.
An older Wall
Street Journal article and this
National Review article also refute the slanderous accusations against
Judge Southwick.
Southwick was recently voted out of committee, but the liberal attack email
below should provide evidence enough that radical organizations will continue
to seek to obstruct Judge Southwick’s nomination and likely the confirmations
of further judicial nominees. Your
senators need to hear the truth about Judge Southwick and of the need to
appoint more qualified, originalist judges to the federal bench.
Below is
the text from an email that AdvanceUSA has obtained which was sent by the Human
Rights Campaign (HRC), a radically liberal “gay rights” organization.
AdvanceUSA
staff had the opportunity last night to attend a reception for an exciting pro-life
organization.
Students
for Life of America is doing excellent work across the country recruiting
and training the next generation of pro-lifers. Here’s an excerpt from their
website:
A pro-life, student-run, non-profit organization since
1987, Students for Life of America
is the nation's oldest pro-life organization wholly devoted to educating
college students about the medical and ethical issues of abortion, euthanasia,
and infanticide.
Formerly known as American Collegians for Life, SFL's
commitment to facilitating the pro-life movement on American college campuses
has remained strong since its founding. SFL has worked to develop a nationwide
network of prolife students. Now connecting hundreds of college campuses in the
largest national directory of its kind, Students for Life will continue to
serve pro-life champions in every college and university in America.
At last
night’s reception pro-life activists were introduced to the Students for Life regional
recruiters who after this week’s training will fan out across the country working
with college students and groups for the cause of life.
For more
information on Students for Life, check their
website.
Much has
been made of the tragic story of Matthew Shepherd. The Senate hate
(thought) crimes bill in Congress has even been named after him. But a
recent article by Peter Sprigg from FRC explains how Shepherd’s
murder, citing an ABC news investigation, probably had nothing to do with his
homosexuality at all. Sprigg also compares the Shepherd case to a
similar one in the same town just three months later in which a woman was
sexually abused and left to die in the cold while her killer was only given a
few years in prison rather than the life-sentences gi | | |