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| Christian Grantham was a student activist in the late 90s and later was a consultant to domestic policy forums for the Clinton Administration as well as events for HRC and GLAAD. | |||
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March 18, 2004
A group of Republican Senators and Representatives are attacking the United States Constitution, again.
This time, they want to strip jurisdiction from federal district courts and the U.S. Supreme Court when it comes to cases of elected or government officials acknowledging God as the source of law, liberty, or government.
The "Constitution Restoration Act" has 12 congressional co-sponsors in both the House and Senate. All but two of these co-sponsors are also co-sponsors of the Federal Marriage Amendment, a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution seeking to deny equal marriage rights to gay and lesbian Americans.
Under the proposed "Constitution Restoration Act," a handful of Republican legislators want to deny American citizens any legal right of recourse when it comes to elected officials trampling on First Amendment protections. These protections allow a diversity of religions to co-exist peacefully. But, to the increasingly emboldened radical ideology of Republicans, these laws have allowed a tolerant society to accept false Gods and equality with heathens. Republicans have had enough of a tolerant society in America and the laws that allow such democratic balance of powers to protect a freedom loving society.
The core supporters of the "Constitution Restoration Act" represent an increasingly vocal faction of the Republican party that shares support for such radical ideology with none other than President George Bush. President Bush has lent his voice of support to most of their causes, from the right of religious-based programs to discriminate with federal funds through Faith-Based Initiatives, removing federal job protections, to the President’s active support for an amendment denying equal marriage rights to American families. President Bush is in lock-step with the radical ideologly of the Republican party base.
To the Republican sponsors of the "Constitution Restoration Act," the highest laws of the land and the people they serve run second to personal beliefs in the Bible and serving God. To these elected officials, the greatest threat facing a desire to deny constitutional protections from American citizens is the United States Constitution and the judges measuring their unconstitutional legislative agenda against higher principles.
When it comes to the highest laws in the land standing in the way of Republicans instituting discriminatory religious ideology, Republicans continue to demonstrate who they prefer to serve and who they prefer not to serve. The radical ideology of the Republican party continues to hold in contempt the fair principles of our highest law when such laws rule in favor of higher principles than what religious ideology offers a diverse society.
The only way religious political extremists can achieve their goal of stripping American citizens of constitutional protections is to make sure those rights no longer apply in America. Republicans are not only full of ideas on how to divide America, they are moving the agenda forward with the support of President George Bush and the silence of moderate voices in America.
Republicans using phrases like “activist judges” hope America won’t remember the work of “activist judges” that struck down laws prohibiting blacks to marry whites less than 40 years ago in Loving v. Virginia. Republicans hope you won’t recall how the Supreme Court measured these discriminatory laws against higher principles allowing fairness and equality to prevail. These “activist judges” saw through arguments against fairness, and delivered a "compassion" and "unity" our United States Constitution will uphold forever and that the Republican party has failed to deliver for our country in the past four years.
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