Legislative
Update
10/17/2003
THE
SENATE
LEGISLATIVE
UPDATE - WEEK ENDING
OCTOBER 17, 2003
CONGRESS
IN SESSION
Special
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MARRIAGE
PROTECTION
Social
conservative leaders met
again this Wednesday on
Capitol Hill. The
purpose of the meeting,
which included many
notables in the
pro-family movement, was
to agree on tough
language for the Federal
Marriage Amendment. It
is my prayer that agreed
upon language can be
presented to the House
Subcommittee on the
Constitution chaired by Congressman
Chabot (R-OH) before
the year is out. Once
agreed to during a
"mark-up,"
final language would
then be presented to the
full House Judiciary
Committee chaired by Congressman
Sennsenbrenner
(R-WI),
It
is hoped that a first
vote could be held on a
Constitutional Amendment
to define marriage as
being between one man
and one woman before the
general elections next
year. While I am
hopeful, I do not
believe that any
Constitutional Amendment
since the Bill of Rights
has passed the House on
a first vote, or even
within the first term it
was entered. In fact
many of the current
Constitutional
amendments took as many
as seven years to pass
and ratify. In the
meantime what do we do
to defend the
institution of marriage?
Congressman
Hostettler (R-IN),
who is a member of the
House Subcommittee on
the Constitution, has
proposed the Marriage
Protection Act of 2003.
His bill would
strengthen the already
existing Defense of
Marriage Act passed in
1996 by restricting the
jurisdiction of federal
courts. In Hill lingo
this is referred to as
the "super-DOMA"
because it uses Article
IV, Section I of the
Constitution to restrict
the jurisdiction of
federal courts,
including the Supreme
Court. This is not an
unusual act and the
Congress passes several
bills a year with
language attached that
forbids Federal courts
from interfering with
congressional acts.
Most
Americans believe there
are three
"equal"
branches of government.
This is false. All power
rests with the Congress.
The Congress can fire
judges, or the
President, for that
matter. The Congress has
the power to shut down
any Cabinet office or to
restrict the courts in
virtually any manner.
Because the Congress is
often politically
divided, the power is
rarely used.
I
fully support
Congressman Hostettler
in his efforts to pass
the Marriage
Protection Act. The
Religious Freedom
Coalition will work on
two tracks to protect
marriage. We will
support an Amendment to
the Constitution and we
will support strong
legislation such as the
Marriage Protection Act.
If nothing else, we can
have Congressman
Hostettler's legislation
in place while the
lengthy process of a
constitutional amendment
plays itself out.
REMEMBER:
Marriage Protection Week
as proclaimed
by President George W.
Bush continues through
Saturday the 18th. There
is time for you to take
action. Sign the online
petition to your
congressman and Senators
today.
Send
your congressman and
Senators an actual
letter through
the mail. This is a
powerful way to make
your point. We have
letters prepared for you
to sign. We will send
you these letters
already addressed to
your congressman and
your Senators for your
signature. Sign them and
send them directly to
your legislators. Click
here for more
information.
Learn
more about the issues
surrounding the attack
on marriage. Dr.
Bill Bennett has
written an excellent
book entitled The
Broken Hearth
which details the attack
on the family today. The
Religious Freedom
Coalition has obtained
copies of The
Broken Hearth at
a special price. For
more information click
here.
To
protect our society and
the future of our
children, marriage
must remain between one
man and one woman
and not between two men
or even a group of
polygamists. Next week
we will return to our
normal format reporting
on various issues
important to families
including the status of
"under God" in
the Pledge to the Flag.
William
J Murray, Chairman
Religious
Freedom Coalition
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