By Penny Starr
Senior Staff Writer
(CNSNews.com) - Just 48 hours after Barack Obama took the oath of office on the steps of the Capitol, hundreds of thousands of people poured onto the National Mall to ask the new president to break his campaign promise to adopt pro-abortion policies.
Held on the anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion, the 36th annual March for Life on Thursday drew pro-life activists from around the country for a rally on the mall and a massive march down Constitution Avenue to the Supreme Court on Capitol Hill.
But this year’s event differed from those in the past as speakers and banners sent a message to Obama and a signal that his election has energized the pro-life movement.
Former California Congressman Bob Dornan said he was repeating words from Obama’s inaugural speech to send that message.
“We send it back to you,” Dornan said. “We will not apologize for our way of life – or love of life -- nor will we waver in its defense, and for those of you who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror (and, media are you listening, abortion is terror) and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken. You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.”
Dornan added: “We will defeat the culture of death or we will perish as a nation.” Joining the traditional “Choose Life” and “Stop Abortion” placards and banners, this year’s crowd held signs addressed to the new administration. “President Obama, don’t condemn our children to death,” one sign read. “No Freedom of Choice Act.”
“Obama said ‘Those who slaughter the innocent will be destroyed. Babies are innocent,’” read another sign.
Earlier in the day, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) held its annual pre-March for Life press conference at the National Press Club, which also targeted Obama’s pro-abortion stance and his affiliation with pro-abortion groups.
Press packages included a brochure, “The Obama Abortion Agenda,” spelling out the policies his administration has promised to put in place, including the federal funding of abortions and the organizations that promote or perform abortion, and passage of the Freedom of Choice Act, which would strike down all state and federal laws limiting abortion, including parental notification laws and making partial-birth abortion legal again.
Olivia Gans, director of the NRLC’s American Victims of Abortion, said that the pro-life movement is already reacting to Obama’s election.
“I can tell you that already since the election of Mr. Obama I have heard of numerous new National Right to Life affiliate groups springing up, new chapters within our state organizations,” Gans said. “I have the invitations in my hand to prove that there are people interested in learning about what’s happening under this new hardcore, pro-abortion extremist administration that Mr. Obama represents.”
Wanda Franz, president of the NRLC, said she thinks the new president will be hearing from his constituents in the pro-life community.
“When people out there become aware of what’s going to happen as these changes occur, I think that we can help to bring those people back into the public eye and they’ll begin to realize that they have to put pressure on this new president,” Franz said. “They voted for him because they counted on him doing things they wanted him to do, and when he begins to be very pro-abortion in his policies, I think you’ll see people who voted for him coming forward and trying to change his mind.
Franz and other NRLC officials cited statistics that they said show that the pro-life movement has saved millions of lives by decreasing abortions, and that states across the country have enacted pro-life legislation, including laws that require a pregnant woman to view an ultrasound image of her unborn child before having an abortion.
But one thing remained constant at all of the pro-life activities taking place in Washington, D.C., this week. People of many faiths and backgrounds bowed their heads and prayed for an end to abortion.
Franz said that those prayers extend beyond the March for Life and are aimed directly at President Obama.
Sphere: Related Content
Showing posts with label CNS News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CNS News. Show all posts
Friday, January 23, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
Obama Cannot Fulfill Vow to Put Homosexuals in Military Unless Congress Changes the Law
Monday, January 19, 2009
By Matt Cover
(CNSNews.com) - Although President-elect Barack Obama has vowed to open the U.S. armed forces to homosexuals, he cannot fulfill this promise unless Congress passes new legislation repealing the existing statute that expressly prohibits homosexuals from serving in the military.
Legislation to do this will be proposed in the current Congress by Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.).
On Jan. 9, the Obama transition office posted a video on its website, Change.gov, showing Robert Gibbs, the incoming White House press secretary, answering a series of questions that had been submitted by the public.
One was about the so-called “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that President Clinton instituted in 1993. This unilateral administrative policy simply involved the Defense Department no longer asking those seeking to join the military whether they were homosexual.
In response to President Clinton’s policy, Congress enacted legislation expressly reaffirming that homosexuals are not eligible for military service—thus enshrining in statutory law a longstanding military regulation.
On the Change.gov video, the following question was presented from “Thaddeus from Lansing Michigan”: “Is the new administration going to get rid of the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy?”
Gibbs responds: “Thaddeus, you don’t hear a politician give a one-word answer much, but it’s: Yes.” See Video
To fulfill this promise, however, Obama must persuade Congress to repeal the statute it enacted in 1993 in response to President Clinton’s decision not to ask recruits if they were homosexuals.
That statute – Public Law 103-160, Section 654, Title 10 – begins by restating the fact that the Constitution gives Congress the authority to regulate the Armed Forces.
“Pursuant to the powers conferred by section 8 article 1 of the Constitution of the United States, it lies within the discretion of the Congress to establish qualifications for and conditions of service in the armed forces,” the law states.
The existing ban on homosexuals in the military was then expressly reaffirmed.
“The prohibition against homosexual conduct is a long-standing element of military law that continues to be necessary in the unique circumstances of military service,” the law says.
“The presence in the armed forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability,” the law says.
“A member of the armed forces shall be separated from the armed forces under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense,” the law continues, “if one or more of the following findings is made and approved in accordance with procedures set forth in such regulations: (1) That the member has engaged in, attempted to engage in, or solicited another to engage in a homosexual act or acts … (2) That the member has stated that he or she is a homosexual or bisexual, or words to that effect … (3) That the member has married or attempted to marry a person known to be of the same biological sex.
“The bill that Tauscher is preparing to introduce would not only repeal this law, but also allow homosexuals who have been discharged from the military to return to service.
“She plans on introducing the legislation in the coming weeks,” Tauscher press secretary Robert Keller told CNSNews.com. “She’s going to be the author, and there were 148 co-sponsors in the last session, and we expect to have at least that many and probably more.”
The bill, called ‘The Military Readiness Enhancement Act,’ was also introduced in each of the last two Congresses. Each time it did not come up for a vote.
That was a good thing from the perspective of Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, which supports the ban on homosexuals in the service. Donnelly told CNSNews.com that repealing the ban would do immeasurable damage to the armed forces at a time when they are already stressed by two wars and low recruitment.
“If you repeal it, the consequences would be quite extreme,” said Donnelly. “The Military Times has found that among active duty military, 58 percent are opposed to repealing the law. Ten percent of respondents said they would end their (military) careers, 14 percent said they would consider ending their careers.” “You cannot have the volunteer force we have today with losses of that nature,” said Donnelly.
Donnelly, an expert on military gender issues, also said that repealing the ban would create a slew of new problems for the military, including new forms of sexual harassment.
“We know that in the gender-integrated military – and we need women in the military – we still have problems with sexual misconduct,” Donnelly said. “If the law is repealed on gays in the military, we are going to increase those incidents three-fold. We are going to have male-male incidents, we are going to have female-female incidents as well as the kinds that we already have.”
Given that he is inheriting two major wars, the new president would do well to leave the law in place, Donnelly said.
“If Mr. Obama really wants to get the support of the troops, he could enforce the (current) law,” she said. Sphere: Related Content
By Matt Cover
(CNSNews.com) - Although President-elect Barack Obama has vowed to open the U.S. armed forces to homosexuals, he cannot fulfill this promise unless Congress passes new legislation repealing the existing statute that expressly prohibits homosexuals from serving in the military.
Legislation to do this will be proposed in the current Congress by Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.).
On Jan. 9, the Obama transition office posted a video on its website, Change.gov, showing Robert Gibbs, the incoming White House press secretary, answering a series of questions that had been submitted by the public.
One was about the so-called “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that President Clinton instituted in 1993. This unilateral administrative policy simply involved the Defense Department no longer asking those seeking to join the military whether they were homosexual.
In response to President Clinton’s policy, Congress enacted legislation expressly reaffirming that homosexuals are not eligible for military service—thus enshrining in statutory law a longstanding military regulation.
On the Change.gov video, the following question was presented from “Thaddeus from Lansing Michigan”: “Is the new administration going to get rid of the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy?”
Gibbs responds: “Thaddeus, you don’t hear a politician give a one-word answer much, but it’s: Yes.” See Video
To fulfill this promise, however, Obama must persuade Congress to repeal the statute it enacted in 1993 in response to President Clinton’s decision not to ask recruits if they were homosexuals.
That statute – Public Law 103-160, Section 654, Title 10 – begins by restating the fact that the Constitution gives Congress the authority to regulate the Armed Forces.
“Pursuant to the powers conferred by section 8 article 1 of the Constitution of the United States, it lies within the discretion of the Congress to establish qualifications for and conditions of service in the armed forces,” the law states.
The existing ban on homosexuals in the military was then expressly reaffirmed.
“The prohibition against homosexual conduct is a long-standing element of military law that continues to be necessary in the unique circumstances of military service,” the law says.
“The presence in the armed forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability,” the law says.
“A member of the armed forces shall be separated from the armed forces under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense,” the law continues, “if one or more of the following findings is made and approved in accordance with procedures set forth in such regulations: (1) That the member has engaged in, attempted to engage in, or solicited another to engage in a homosexual act or acts … (2) That the member has stated that he or she is a homosexual or bisexual, or words to that effect … (3) That the member has married or attempted to marry a person known to be of the same biological sex.
“The bill that Tauscher is preparing to introduce would not only repeal this law, but also allow homosexuals who have been discharged from the military to return to service.
“She plans on introducing the legislation in the coming weeks,” Tauscher press secretary Robert Keller told CNSNews.com. “She’s going to be the author, and there were 148 co-sponsors in the last session, and we expect to have at least that many and probably more.”
The bill, called ‘The Military Readiness Enhancement Act,’ was also introduced in each of the last two Congresses. Each time it did not come up for a vote.
That was a good thing from the perspective of Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, which supports the ban on homosexuals in the service. Donnelly told CNSNews.com that repealing the ban would do immeasurable damage to the armed forces at a time when they are already stressed by two wars and low recruitment.
“If you repeal it, the consequences would be quite extreme,” said Donnelly. “The Military Times has found that among active duty military, 58 percent are opposed to repealing the law. Ten percent of respondents said they would end their (military) careers, 14 percent said they would consider ending their careers.” “You cannot have the volunteer force we have today with losses of that nature,” said Donnelly.
Donnelly, an expert on military gender issues, also said that repealing the ban would create a slew of new problems for the military, including new forms of sexual harassment.
“We know that in the gender-integrated military – and we need women in the military – we still have problems with sexual misconduct,” Donnelly said. “If the law is repealed on gays in the military, we are going to increase those incidents three-fold. We are going to have male-male incidents, we are going to have female-female incidents as well as the kinds that we already have.”
Given that he is inheriting two major wars, the new president would do well to leave the law in place, Donnelly said.
“If Mr. Obama really wants to get the support of the troops, he could enforce the (current) law,” she said. Sphere: Related Content
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