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Rick Perry Joins Some Republican Presidential Candidates by Signing Pro-Life Pledge
Texas Governor Rick Perry has become the latest presidential candidate to sign the Susan B. Anthony List Pro-life Presidential Leadership Pledge. Governor Perry joins Michele Bachmann, Thad McCotter, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich in committing to be a true leader for Life in the White House if elected President.
In signing the Pledge, Governor Perry remarked:"I not only pledge to protect unborn life, but have a record of doing so in Texas. I have long advocated adoption as an alternative to abortion in order to protect unborn children."
Click here to check out his signed pledge on our website - and don’t forget to add your name to the list of over 22,000 voters who have signed the Citizen’s Pledge.
As you know, the SBA List has asked all declared presidential candidates to sign our Pro-life Leadership Pledge. Signers commit to:
- Nominate only constitutionalist Judges,
- Select only pro-life appointees for relevant Cabinet and Executive Branch positions,
- Permanently end all taxpayer funding of abortion both at home and abroad, including defunding Planned Parenthood abortion providers, and
- Advance and sign into law a Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act to protect unborn children who are capable of feeling pain from abortion.
Warren, when pro-life presidential candidates swept the Ames Iowa Straw Poll earlier this month, the message could not have been anymore clear to the media, the Republican Party, and the rest of the nation: Life matters, and only an authentic pro-life leader will be able to defeat President Obama in 2012. That’s why we’re going to need all hands on deck in laying the groundwork for a pro-life victory in 2012.
Will you start by signing the Pro-life Citizen’s Pledge and then sending an email to at least 10 of your pro-life family, friends and neighbors asking them to sign as well?
We’ve got to swell the ranks of the pro-life army if we’re going to achieve victory next November. Getting another candidate Pledge-signer is a great step, but now it’s time for the grassroots to answer the call and sign the Citizen’s Pledge.
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Personhood Ohio Seeks to Stop All Abortions Statewide
OHIO, /Christian Newswire/ -- Personhood Ohio is a group whose mission is to ensure equal protection for every preborn child's right to life. Their goal is to obey the Lord's command to love "the least of these" through ending the dehumanization and murder of preborn children in this state. The group is collecting signatures for a petition to get a Personhood Amendment on the ballot so Ohioans can vote to protect ALL preborn human beings by law.
The Ohio Constitution, Article 1, Section 1 currently reads:
"All PERSONS are, by nature, free and independent, and have certain inalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and seeking and obtaining happiness and safety."
The Personhood Amendment would add this one sentence:
"The word 'person' or 'persons' applies to every human being at every stage of the biological development of that human being or human organism, including fertilization."
The first step is to get 1,000 signatures and submit the legal language of the amendment to the Ohio Attorney General's office for approval. Director of Personhood Ohio, Zanesville family physician Dr. Patrick Johnston says, "We've had forty years of legal child-killing in America. Why haven't pro-life forces united to put the issue before the voters? Why do we continue to respect the immoral and unconstitutional Roe v. Wade decision? Ohio has the right and obligation to protect all innocent children within our jurisdiction. There will be no lasting mercy and blessing for us until there is justice for the preborn."
Personhood Ohio solicits volunteers through their website www.PersonhoodOhio.com. They are aiming to get the amendment on the 2012 ballot.
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FRC to Deliver 55,000 Petitions Urging Mayor Bloomberg to Reverse Decision Banning Clergy and First Responders from 9/11 Ceremony
WASHINGTON, /Christian Newswire/ -- Family Research Council (FRC) announced today it has so far gathered more than 55,000 signed petitions that join New York City Councilman Fernando Cabrera's efforts to urge Mayor Michael Bloomberg to reverse his decision to prevent clergy and first responders from participating in the Ground Zero commemoration. The petitions will be presented to the Mayor's office on Thursday afternoon, three days prior to the ceremony.
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released the following comments: "Ten years ago, in the wake of the worst terrorist attack in our nation's history, Americans turned to God for solace. Members of the clergy on the scene and across the nation gave aid, comfort and hope to the shocked, the fearful and the bereaved. As the tenth anniversary of that day approaches, we would do well to turn our eyes again toward our Protector.
"Unfortunately, New York City Michael Bloomberg would have us look the other way. At a Ground Zero commemoration for the families of victims, Mayor Bloomberg is allowing the presence of politicians and presidents, but no pastors or prayer. The mayor of course will be there, but while we appreciate political leadership, on September 11th, it was not, nor is it now, nearly enough.
"Pastors are not invited to the event, as Mayor Bloomberg apparently thinks that the invited politicians will be able to offer enough comfort to the families. But Mayor Bloomberg's glaring omissions from the event do not end with clergy. The very people who hallowed the ground, the living embodiment of selfless courage we vowed 'never to forget' - New York's first responders - won't even be invited.
"While the mayor may be blind to those he's leaving aside, the rest of the country is taking notice. More than 55,000 Americans and New Yorkers have signed petitions to Mayor Bloomberg asking that he reverse his decision to deny first responders and prayer a place at this most solemn remembrance. Petition signers reflect the views of the vast majority of Americans who understand that this nation needs prayer more than politics," concluded Perkins.
Click here to view FRC's web video urging the Mayor to reverse his decision.
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Washington, D.C. Prohibits Prayer and Free Speech on the Public Sidewalk in Our Nation's Capitol
D.C. police officers have threatened to arrest people praying and counseling on the public sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood.
 WASHINGTON, /Christian Newswire/ -- For many years, the pro-life community has been allowed to pray, counsel and have a peaceful witness on the public property surrounding the Planned Parenthood Clinic in Washington, D.C.
Photo: Pro-Lifers Peacefully Praying on Public Property Surrounding Planned Parenthood
Several weeks ago Planned Parenthood put up a fence around that public property and police are now threatening to arrest anyone who stands inside that fence.
View photos of new fence and "No Trespassing" sign
Watch video of peaceful pro-life witness outside of DC Planned Parenthood
The Christian Defense Coalition is challenging this unconstitutional crushing of prayer and free speech and has applied for a permit to hold a prayer vigil on the public sidewalk leading up to Planned Parenthood. That prayer vigil will take place on Tuesday, June 8, at 11:00 A.M. at Planned Parenthood 1108 16th St. NW Washington, D.C. Faith leaders will risk arrest before they surrender their First Amendment rights or allow prayer to be banned on the public sidewalk in the heart of our nation's capitol.
The Christian Defense Coalition and their supporters are being represented by the American Center for Law and Justice.
Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, states, "It is both disturbing and a disgrace that prayer and free speech have been banned and prohibited here in our nation's capitol. "For many years, peaceful pro-life activists were allowed to pray, counsel and share on the public sidewalk and property in front of Planned Parenthood. "Now after putting up a fence around that public property, the Washington, D.C. Police Department is threatening to arrest anyone who steps inside that fence to pray and counsel. Yet, that sidewalk and property still remain public." On Tuesday, June 8, we have applied for a permit to pray on the public sidewalk leading up to Planned Parenthood. Our hope is that the City of Washington, D.C. will honor and respect the First Amendment and allow us to celebrate our free speech rights in the nation's capitol.
"However, even if we are threatened with arrest and taken to jail we will not be bullied or intimidated into silence or surrender. When free speech and public prayer are banned and prohibited, it is the duty of people of faith to peacefully challenge that injustice and boldly take a stand." Dr. Martin Luther King stated, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.' If we allow the trampling of the First Amendment here in Washington, D.C., then free speech rights are at risk all across America." For more information or interviews call: Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney at 540.538.4741 202.547.1735
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Faith Leaders Call on Congress to Respect Our Veterans and Their Faith
SAN DIEGO, /Christian Newswire/ -- Preparing to celebrate Memorial Day, we do so knowing brave veterans and our shared faith have been maliciously attacked, first by thieves and now by our own Federal Government. The recent theft and desecration of the Mohave Cross, serving as a WWI veterans war memorial since 1934, was more than a symbol of gratitude to our fallen heroes. It's a symbol of the overwhelming majority of our WWI veterans' faith.
After a long and contentious legal battle, the US Supreme Court ruled the Mohave Cross should remain on Sunrise Rock in the Mojave National Preserve. Yet, in order to circumvent a decision they disagreed with, despicable cowards violated the Court's decision and the rule of law. These lawless acts of violence against the faith community, further demonstrated by last week's desecration of the Maywood, CA Catholic Church, have got to cease.
Now, adding insult to injury, the Federal Government won't approve a permit to build another cross exactly like the one that was stolen. This political correctness run amuck has exposed again an ugly, anti-Christian bigotry and intolerance towards veterans by this administration. We call on the US Congress to investigate why the Park Service refuses to allow the cross to be replaced.
The irony is painfully obvious. Generations of Christians and patriots made the ultimate sacrifice giving us a land of freedom and religious tolerance. But now criminals and the government are conspiring to deprive them the honor they are due. This makes Christian Americans into second class citizens in the very country for which our Christian forefathers bled and died.
Americans are tolerant of other people's faith and symbols of their religion. We're asking that Christian Americans are afforded the same respect and tolerance extended to other religions.
This Memorial Day 2010, remember our veterans who laid down their lives for us - from the Revolutionary War of 1776 to Afghanistan and Iraq. In loving memory of these courageous men and women, we urge Congress and this Administration to work with Christian Americans to restore the cross at Mojave National Preserve. Respect our veterans, their faith and our country's heroes. GOD bless our veterans and the USA.
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Evangelical, Social Conservative Turnout Highest Ever Recorded in Mid-Term Election
White evangelicals comprise nearly 30% of all voters, Voted 78% for GOP
52% of all Tea Party Supporters are Born-Again Evangelical Christians, According to Post-Election Survey
DULUTH, Ga., /Christian Newswire/ -- According to a post-election survey conducted by Public Opinion Strategies for the Faith and Freedom Coalition, the largest single constituency in the electorate in the 2010 midterm elections was self-identified evangelicals, who comprised 29% of the vote and cast an astonishing 78% of their ballots for Republican candidates.
The turnout by conservative people of faith represented a 5 percent increase in evangelical turnout over 2006---enough to eliminate Democratic gains in that year---and was the largest ever recorded in a midterm election. Because the evangelical vote is concentrated in the South and the Midwest, these voters had an exaggerated impact on yesterday's GOP gains, contributing to the vast majority of U.S. Senate and House victories by Republican candidates.
The survey also found that 52% of all self-identified members of the Tea Party movement are conservative evangelicals. This is consistent with polling data by other organizations conducted before Election Day.
Evangelicals were joined by frequently-church-attending Roman Catholic voters, who constituted 12 percent of the vote and cast 58 percent of their ballots for Republican candidates, as opposed to 40 percent of their ballots for Democrats, according to CNN exit polling.
"People of faith turned out in the highest numbers in a midterm election we have ever seen, and they made an invaluable contribution to the historic results, including the election of a Republican majority in the House and significant gains in U.S. Senate seats, governorships, and hundreds of state legislative seats and local offices," said Ralph Reed, founder and chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition. "This survey, along with numerous exit polls, makes clear that those who ignore or disregard social conservative voters and their issues do so at their own peril."
The Faith and Freedom Coalition made a total of 58.8 million voter contacts to social and fiscal conservative voters in 2010, including 16 million voter guides, 8 million pieces of mail, and 15 million GOTV calls. FFC has 400,000 members and supporters and chapters operating in 24 states.
Christian Newswire
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National Right to Life Committee Urges U.S. House to Reject 'Disclose Act' as 'A Corruption of Power
WASHINGTON, /Christian Newswire/ -- The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of right-to-life organizations in all 50 states, today urged the U.S. House of Representatives to reject the "DISCLOSE Act" (H.R. 5175), which it called a "bullying political power grab," which is "not a curb on corruption, but itself a type of corruption -- a corruption of the lawmaking process, by which incumbent lawmakers employ the threat of criminal sanctions, among other deterrents, to reduce the amount of private speech regarding the actions of the lawmakers themselves." NRLC said that it would include the dispositive roll calls on the measure in its scorecard of key votes for the current Congress.
The four-page letter, signed by NRLC Executive Director David N. O'Steen and Legislative Director Douglas Johnson, said that the bill "has been carefully crafted to maximize short-term political benefits for the dominant faction of one political party, while running roughshod over the First Amendment protections for political speech that have been clearly and forcefully articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court." The letter discusses a number of ways in which the legislation is designed to "to discourage, as much as possible, disfavored groups (such as NRLC) from communicating about officeholders, by exposing citizens who support such efforts to harassment and intimidation, and by smothering organizations in layer on layer of record keeping and reporting requirements, all backed by the threat of civil and criminal sanctions." The letter suggests that the bill be amended to clarify that "DISCLOSE" actually stands for "Deterring Independent Speech about Congress except by Labor Organizations and Selected Elites."
The House Democratic leadership had apparently intended to bring the bill to the House floor tomorrow (May 28), but -- faced by a rising chorus of protests from a broad array of organizations -- has now postponed floor action until the week of June 7.
The letter is available here: http://nrlcomm.wordpress.com/2010/05/27/discloseletter
NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson and Senior Legislative Counsel Susan T. Muskett, J.D. are available to provide comment and analysis of the "DISCLOSE Act." Please contact the NRLC Communications Department at (202) 626-8825 to arrange an interview.
The National Right to Life Committee is the nation's largest pro-life group, with affiliates in all 50 states and over 3,000 local chapters nationwide.
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Prolife Politicians Sweep Statewide Office in GeorgiaLAWRENCEVILLE, Ga., /Christian Newswire/ -- There were nine statewide constitutional offices on the ballot in Georgia Tuesday. Candidates endorsed by Georgia Right to Life (GRTL) won all nine positions handily. They include:
Governor - Nathan Deal
Lt. Governor - Casey Cagle
Secretary of State - Brian Kemp
Attorney General - Sam Olens
State School Superintendent - John D. Barge
Commissioner of Insurance - Ralph T. Hudgens
Commissioner of Agriculture - Gary Black
Commissioner of Labor - Mark Butler
Public Service Commission, District 2 - Tim Echols
On average, there was a full 15 % advantage given to prolife candidates over the next nearest pro-abortion candidate in each prospective statewide race.
"We congratulate these prolife candidates on their victories. It is obvious now that Georgia is officially a prolife state," says Daniel Becker, GRTL President. "From the Governor to the Labor Commissioner and every statewide constitutional office in between will be occupied by prolife leaders. This is remarkable, considering that each of them affirmed support for a Personhood Amendment to the Georgia constitution and opposition to abortion for any reason other than to save both mother and child. Georgia voters clearly prefer life-affirming candidates, as evidenced by the margins in the general election. A truly prolife position is now politically mainstream in this state," says Becker.
"The 2010 Georgia Right to Life PAC results are the best in our history," says Melanie Crozier, Political Action Director for GRTL. "More candidates sought and received our endorsement than in past election cycles. Of the 104 candidates endorsed in the general election, 87% were elected to serve. More candidates rented our lists and communicated with our base then at any time in our history."
Prolife legislators were added as well. The endorsed prolife Congressional Delegation increased from five to six. Two prolife seats were added in the State House and a prolife majority was maintained in the State Senate. Additionally, some candidates without opposition did not seek formal endorsement, but have been previously endorsed.
Georgia Right to Life promotes respect and effective legal protection for all human life from its earliest biological beginning through natural death. GRTL is one of a number of organizations that have adopted Personhood as the most effective pro-life strategy for the 21st century.
Christian Newswire
Church Leaders Embrace Obama While Members Vote Out His Party
"Church officials met on election eve with President Obama to support his policies. But exit polls clearly show that their claimed constituency of churchgoers voted very differently." -- Mark Tooley, IRD President
WASHINGTON, /Christian Newswire/ -- On November 1, a large delegation from the National Council of Churches, which claims to represent over 40 million church members, came to the White House to "thank President Obama for passage of historic health reform legislation and robust engagement with the faith community." The NCC leaders, according to their press release, also deplored the "fear-mongering and divisiveness" of the campaign in which the president's policies came under heavy criticism.
But the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life reports that white mainline Protestants favored Republicans by a 54-36 margin in late October. And exit polls Tuesday showed white evangelicals voting Republican by an overwhelming 78-20 spread, thus belying the evangelical left's claims of a growing constituency.
IRD President Mark Tooley commented:
"The election eve National Council of Churches 'prayer' meeting with President Obama was eerily reminiscent of the NCC's similarly partisan meeting in 1995 with President Clinton, where church leaders prayed that the Democratic president would be 'strong for the task' of resisting the then new Republican Congress. Then as now, the NCC's mainline Protestant constituency is more diverse and more conservative than the liberal NCC elites are willing to admit.
"Also suspect are claims by the evangelical left, represented most prominently by Jim Wallis of Sojourners, that evangelicals are flocking to support 'progressive' causes and candidates. Exit polls showed that evangelicals voted Republican this week by exactly the same margin that they backed George W. Bush in 2004 -- previously the high water mark of evangelical leanings in a conservative, Republican direction.
"The evangelical left and the old religious left represented by the NCC continually equate God's Kingdom with big government. But their professed constituencies obviously believe very differently."
The Institute on Religion & Democracy works to reaffirm the church's biblical and historical teachings, strengthen and reform its role in public life, protect religious freedom, and renew democracy at home and abroad.
www.TheIRD.org Christian Newswire
Americans Remember Health Care Betrayal at the Polls
WASHINGTON, /Christian Newswire/ -- Representative Bart Stupak and the majority of his collaborators who provided the votes for the pro-abortion health care bill were sent packing as a result of voter outrage culminating in yesterday's election: Representatives Alan Mollohan, Steve Driehaus, Baron Hill, Chris Carney, Kathy Dahlkemper, Marcy Kaptur, Charlie Wilson, Brad Ellsworth, Jim Oberstar and John Boccieri. Only Representatives Marcy Kaptur, Joe Donnelly and Jerry Costello escaped voters' wrath.
"Last night's vote was crystal clear: Americans do not want their money to pay for abortions," said Concerned Women for America Director of Legislation and Public Policy Shari Rendall.
According to Concerned Women for America CEO Penny Nance, selling their votes to pass the controversial health care bill most Americans oppose was their ticket home. "Yesterday's vote showed that Americans realized that President Obama's executive order was just a sham to ram through this unpopular bill."
Concerned Women for America is the nation's largest public policy women's organization.
Christian Newswire
Faith Leaders Call on Congress to Respect Our Veterans and Their Faith
SAN DIEGO, /Christian Newswire/ -- Preparing to celebrate Memorial Day, we do so knowing brave veterans and our shared faith have been maliciously attacked, first by thieves and now by our own Federal Government.
The recent theft and desecration of the Mohave Cross, serving as a WWI veterans war memorial since 1934, was more than a symbol of gratitude to our fallen heroes. It's a symbol of the overwhelming majority of our WWI veterans' faith.
After a long and contentious legal battle, the US Supreme Court ruled the Mohave Cross should remain on Sunrise Rock in the Mojave National Preserve. Yet, in order to circumvent a decision they disagreed with, despicable cowards violated the Court's decision and the rule of law. These lawless acts of violence against the faith community, further demonstrated by last week's desecration of the Maywood, CA Catholic Church, have got to cease.
Now, adding insult to injury, the Federal Government won't approve a permit to build another cross exactly like the one that was stolen. This political correctness run amuck has exposed again an ugly, anti-Christian bigotry and intolerance towards veterans by this administration. We call on the US Congress to investigate why the Park Service refuses to allow the cross to be replaced.
The irony is painfully obvious. Generations of Christians and patriots made the ultimate sacrifice giving us a land of freedom and religious tolerance. But now criminals and the government are conspiring to deprive them the honor they are due. This makes Christian Americans into second class citizens in the very country for which our Christian forefathers bled and died.
Americans are tolerant of other people's faith and symbols of their religion. We're asking that Christian Americans are afforded the same respect and tolerance extended to other religions.
This Memorial Day 2010, remember our veterans who laid down their lives for us - from the Revolutionary War of 1776 to Afghanistan and Iraq. In loving memory of these courageous men and women, we urge Congress and this Administration to work with Christian Americans to restore the cross at Mojave National Preserve. Respect our veterans, their faith and our country's heroes. GOD bless our veterans and the USA.
National Right to Life Committee Urges U.S. House to Reject 'Disclose Act' as 'A Corruption of the Lawmaking Power'
WASHINGTON, /Christian Newswire/ -- The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of right-to-life organizations in all 50 states, today urged the U.S. House of Representatives to reject the "DISCLOSE Act" (H.R. 5175), which it called a "bullying political power grab," which is "not a curb on corruption, but itself a type of corruption -- a corruption of the lawmaking process, by which incumbent lawmakers employ the threat of criminal sanctions, among other deterrents, to reduce the amount of private speech regarding the actions of the lawmakers themselves." NRLC said that it would include the dispositive roll calls on the measure in its scorecard of key votes for the current Congress.
The four-page letter, signed by NRLC Executive Director David N. O'Steen and Legislative Director Douglas Johnson, said that the bill "has been carefully crafted to maximize short-term political benefits for the dominant faction of one political party, while running roughshod over the First Amendment protections for political speech that have been clearly and forcefully articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court." The letter discusses a number of ways in which the legislation is designed to "to discourage, as much as possible, disfavored groups (such as NRLC) from communicating about officeholders, by exposing citizens who support such efforts to harassment and intimidation, and by smothering organizations in layer on layer of record keeping and reporting requirements, all backed by the threat of civil and criminal sanctions." The letter suggests that the bill be amended to clarify that "DISCLOSE" actually stands for "Deterring Independent Speech about Congress except by Labor Organizations and Selected Elites."
The House Democratic leadership had apparently intended to bring the bill to the House floor tomorrow (May 28), but -- faced by a rising chorus of protests from a broad array of organizations -- has now postponed floor action until the week of June 7.
The letter is available here: http://nrlcomm.wordpress.com/2010/05/27/discloseletter
NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson and Senior Legislative Counsel Susan T. Muskett, J.D. are available to provide comment and analysis of the "DISCLOSE Act." Please contact the NRLC Communications Department at (202) 626-8825 to arrange an interview.
The National Right to Life Committee is the nation's largest pro-life group, with affiliates in all 50 states and over 3,000 local chapters nationwide.
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