Good News: Round Three to Religious Liberty!

Monday, March 20, 2006

Bryan Fischer, Executive Director

Note: I delayed today’s update in order to give you a report on this morning’s action on SJM119.

MEMORIAL IN SUPPORT OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY PASSES COMMITTEE 16-1

Great news: the IVA-sponsored memorial in support of the Constitution Restoration Act, SJM119, passed out of the House State Affairs Committee this morning by a 16-1 vote. The vote puts this committee on record as a strong supporter of religious liberty in Idaho and in America, and sends a message to our congressional delegation that Idahoans support reining in out of control federal judges.

The bill will now go to the full House, where we anticipate a favorable vote. The Senate, which has more moderate leanings than the House, passed the memorial 25-5 (with five senators conveniently absent), and so we have reason for optimism that the bill will pass the House with a similar percentage of the vote.

All Republicans, two Democrats vote for bill

All fourteen Republicans present voted for the amendment, including two who voted earlier this session against the marriage amendment (Rep. Janet Miller of Boise and Rep. Bob Ring of Caldwell). The only “No” vote came from Boise’s Anne Pasley-Stuart of District 19. The other two Democrats on the committee, Mary Lou Shepherd of Wallace and Elaine Smith of Pocatello, voted for the bill.

Here’s the list of the other Republicans who voted for SJM119, with the district they represent in parentheses: Bill Deal (13) of Nampa (Chairman), Steve Smylie (15) of Boise (Vice Chairman), Bert Stevenson (26) of Rupert, Max Black (15) of Boise, Clete Edmundson (9) of Fruitland, Mark Snodgrass (20) of Meridian, Kathie Garrett (17) of Boise, Tom Loertscher (31) of Iona, Eric Anderson (1) of Priest Lake, Ken Andrus (29) of Lava Hot Springs, Phil Hart (3) of Athol, and Carlos Bilbao (11) of Emmett.

Rep. Smylie, a candidate for state Superintendent of Public Instruction, voted for the marriage amendment as well, as did all the Republicans on this committee with the exception of Rep. Miller and Rep. Ring.

Your grassroots support made a huge difference

Once again, your response to our appeal for direct communication to legislators made an enormous difference. As we were walking out of the committee room after the vote, I asked one legislator if he’d received much in the way of email traffic on this issue. “It was huge,” he said. “I literally got hundreds of emails of support. I’ve never seen anything like it. They were coming in on Friday at three or four a minute!”

Remember that every member of the committee received your emails, so they all have the same story to tell. I believe the overwhelming vote this bill received is due to the fact that you cared enough about religious liberty to take the time to make your voice heard. And believe me, it was!

Together, we are demonstrating that, as our state constitution declares, “all political power is inherent in the people.” As we learn to use that power, and use it wisely and strategically, you and I together can make a difference in the public policy landscape of our state.

Thanks to the American Family Association

Our good friends at the American Family Association deserve a big thank you. Despite the busy-ness of their schedules, they took the time to send an email alert Friday to every Idaho member of their extensive email network. We gladly share the credit with them and their network for the outpouring of grassroots support on this issue.

Thanks to those who testified in support of religious liberty

In presenting the bill, I pointed out to the committee that the CRA is in effort to rein in an out of control judiciary that has done so much to strip religious expression from the public square over the last four decades.

After I spoke, others added compelling and persuasive testimony. Rep. Bill Sali spoke to some of the technical aspects of the bill, and then reminded the committee that the Ten Commandments is the very foundation of western jurisprudence. Allen Gorin of Toward Tradition testified on behalf of judicial restraint, saying that our religious liberty is in much less danger from legislators and citizens who believe in God than from unaccountable, unelected judges who play God.

Brandi Swindell, who co-chairs the Keep the Commandments Coalition with me, and is the executive director of Generation Life, spoke on behalf of the 19,000 Boiseans who signed the Ten Commandments initiative and reminded the committee that our constitution guarantees “freedom of religion, not freedom from religion.”

And veteran Richard Orr spoke simply but movingly about how disturbed he is “to see the values that have made this country great go by the wayside” through the work of activist judges.

All in all, a good day for religious liberty in Idaho!

TO SIGN UP TO RECEIVE THESE DAILY UPDATES click here: Signup For Updates and simply enter your name and email address.

TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE WORK OF THE IVA, click here: Donate Online, or send a contribution to:

Idaho Values Alliance

PO Box 44873

Boise, ID 83711