Thursday, January 16, 2014
From: Gary L. Bauer
Governor Mike Pence Fights For Marriage
Indiana Governor Mike Pence delivered his State of the State address Tuesday and did not hesitate to stand up for normal marriage.
Indiana has been an unlikely battleground in the culture war. While more than 30 states across the country overwhelmingly approved constitutional amendments protecting marriage as the union of one man and one woman, liberal politicians who previously controlled Indiana’s state legislature routinely refused to let Hoosiers vote on the issue.
Recent elections ushered in new leadership, including Mike Pence’s election as governor in 2012. The issue is once again before the legislature, and a key vote in the House Judiciary Committee is expected soon.
Not surprisingly, the forces trying to redefine marriage have mounted a full court press to kill the marriage amendment. Tuesday night, Governor Pence clearly addressed the issue when he told state lawmakers:
- “Now on the subject of marriage, we are in the midst of the debate over whether Indiana should join some 30 other states that have enshrined the definition of marriage in their state constitutions. … For my part, I believe in traditional marriage, and I have long held the view that the people, rather than unelected judges, should decide matters of such great consequence to the society. …So let’s have a debate worthy of our people with civility and respect. Let’s protect the rights of Hoosier employers to hire who they want… And let’s resolve this issue this year once and for all.”
Governor Pence is absolutely right. The people should decide whether marriage remains what it has always been, and Christian business owners and religious institutions should not be forced to violate their values.
Busting Buffer Zones
The Supreme Court took up abortion and free speech yesterday. The case challenges a Massachusetts law that established 35-foot buffer zones, areas of public space off-limits to sidewalk counselors and pro-life activists, around abortion centers. Based on the justices’ questioning, legal observers believe the Massachusetts anti-free speech law is unlikely to survive.
The left argues that buffer zones are needed to protect women from violence. That’s nonsense. The pro-life movement is a peaceful movement that seeks to stop the exploitation of women and violence against unborn children.
In reality, buffer zones are “dead speech zones,” as Justice Scalia put it, and he also noted that laws are already on the books for assault and disorderly conduct.
At first glance, buffer zones may not seem like a big deal. “What’s wrong with that?” Justice Elena Kagan asked. “Just have everybody take a step back.” The tragic irony of the rest of her example — suggesting that animal rights activists could be forced back from slaughterhouses — was not lost on pro-life advocates. Abortion clinics are slaughterhouses — of innocent, defenseless babies.
America has a long and storied history of accommodating free speech and the right to peaceful protest. In 2011, the Supreme Court ruled 8-to-1 that the First Amendment protected the right of fringe zealots to protest at military funerals. Just try to imagine the civil rights movement without its historic lunch counter sit-ins.
Buffer zones are just one more example of how the intolerant left does not hesitate to use the power of big government to shut down debate and silence speech it does not like.
Obamacare Blunders On
Here are the latest headlines from the ongoing Obamacare blunders.
- The House Science, Space and Technology Committee today heard testimony from cybersecurity experts who warned that Obamacare’s website remains vulnerable to hackers. David Kennedy, who testified about the site’s weaknesses last year, told members of Congress, “Nothing has really changed since our November 19 testimony. …They did a little bit of work on it and it’s still vulnerable today.”Kevin Mitnick, once the most wanted cyber criminal in America, submitted a letter to the committee in which he wrote, “It’s shameful the team that built the Healthcare.gov site implemented minimal, if any, security best practices to mitigate the significant risk of a system compromise.”
- Somehow Oregon managed to do even worse. In fact, Cover Oregon is so bad it has failed to register even one individual. State legislators are suggesting they should pull the plug on the site and direct residents to healthcare.gov. Now that’s really bad!
- So what are Senate Democrats doing about Obamacare? Not much it seems. Despite claims that they want to “mend it, not end it,” one Senate Democrat admits that fixing Obamacare has never been discussed at their weekly caucus meetings.
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