From the Desk of Phil Burress
President of Citizens for Community Values
Citizens' E-Courier · October 25, 2007
Sponsor Testimony Begins on Human Cloning Ban in Ohio Senate!
The following good news comes from the office of Ohio Senator Steve Buehrer (R-Delta). Please write your senator and encourage him/her to support this important pro-life, pro-family legislation.
Buehrer moves forward with effort to ban human cloning in Ohio.
COLUMBUS, OH - State Senator Steve Buehrer (R-Delta) today gave sponsor testimony on Se nate Bill 174, legislation he introduced that would prohibit the immoral practice of human cloning in Ohio, representing an important step toward protecting the sanctity of human life across the state.
"My belief is that every human life is a unique creation of God that should be protected and cherished," explained Buehrer. "The cloning of humans, in any way shape or form, is a procedure that violates this sanctity of life, serves little purpose and threatens to tear apart our nation's moral fiber. It must be stopped."
SB 174 establishes necessary safeguards in state law that ensure human cloning will not take place in Ohio, and if it does, those violators will be punished. Specifically, the bill would prohibit any attempt to perform a human cloning procedure in Ohio, as well as forbid the practice of sending or receiving a human embryo, or any product of that embryo that is produced through cloning.
Buehrer noted that if anyone should not follow these rules, they would face criminal prosecution and may be subject to stiff fines. Importantly, he went on to clarify that nothing in SB 174 restricts scientific research that does not involve the cloning of human embryos. Currently, six states have a complete ban on human cloning, while 21 other states have substantially restricted such practices.
"While I think we can all agree that science has produced some great things for man kind in recent years, as the scope of scientific possibilities widens, the line between science and morality has become dangerously blurred in many cases," added Buehrer. "SB 174 sets a necessary parameter and boundary for ongoing research and discussion, while helping to ensure that all human life in Ohio is protected."
President Bush promises to veto ENDA
Washington, D.C. -- This encouraging word just in from the President's Executive Office. Please be in prayer that the President will courageously stand firm on his commitment to veto H.R. 3685 if the bill should make it to his desk!
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET WASHINGTON, D.C. 20503 October 23, 2007 STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY H.R. 3685 - The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (Rep. Frank (D) MA and 9 cosponsors) H.R. 3685 would extend existing employment-discrimination provisions of Federal law, including those in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, to establish "a comprehensive Federal prohibition of employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation." The bill raises concerns on constitutional and policy grounds, and if H.R. 3685 were presented to the President, his senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill. H.R. 3685 is inconsistent with the right to the free exercise of religion as codified by Congress  in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). The Act prohibits the Federal Government from substantially burdening the free exercise of religion except for compelling reasons, and then only in the least restrictive manner possible. H.R. 3685 does not meet this standard. For instance, schools that are owned by or directed toward a particular religion are exempted by the bill; but those that emphasize religious principles broadly will find their religious liberties burdened by H.R. 3685. A second concern is H.R. 3685's authorization of Federal civil damage actions against State entities, which may violate States' immunity under the Eleventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The bill turns on imprecise and subjective terms that would make interpretation, compliance, and enforcement extremely difficult. For instance, the bill establishes liability for acting on "perceived" sexual orientation, or "association" with individuals of a particular sexual orientation. If passed, H.R. 3685 is virtually certain to encourage burdensome litigation beyond the cases that the bill is intended to reach. Provisions of this bill purport to give Federal statutory significance to same-sex marriage rights under State law. These provisions conflict with the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as the legal union between one man and one woman. The Administration strongly opposes any attempt to weaken this law, which is vital to defending the sanctity of marriage.
 And this, from our Washington Briefing tour...
It was an educational, enlightening, exciting, encouraging and very full four days! We'll share more of our experience in future e-Couriers.
Certainly, one of most educational opportunities of the Briefing was hearing from all nine Republican presidential hopefuls. (All presidential hopefuls were invited; unfortunately, all of the Democratic candidates either declined or failed to respond.)
After hearing from all nine candidates, Briefing attendees were encouraged to participate in a straw poll. Actually, voting for the candidates could be done online as well. Many, including even several hundred who attended the Briefing, took advantage of the online voting opportunity. Interestingly, the results of the total poll (including online voting) and the poll of those who voted at the briefing (on-site) were quite different.
In the total poll, Gov. Romney and Gov. Huckabee were virtually tied. In the on-site poll, Gov. Huckabee won by somewhat of a landslide. Below are breakdowns of both.
Total Straw Poll Results | Mitt Romney | 1595 | 27.62% | | Mike Huckabee | 1565 | 27.15% | | Ron Paul | 865 | 14.98% | | Fred Thompson | 564 | 9.77% | | Undecided | 329 | 5.70% | | Sam Brownback | 297 | 5.14% | | Duncan Hunter | 140 | 2.42% | | Tom Tancredo | 133 | 2.30% | | Rudy Giuliani | 107 | 1.85% | | John McCain | 81 | 1.40% | | Not Voting | 67 | 1.16% | | Barack Obama | 9 | 0.16% | | Joe Biden | 5 | 0.09% | | Hillary Clinton | 5 | 0.09% | | John Edwards | 4 | 0.07% | | Dennis Kucinich | 4 | 0.07% | | Christopher Dodd | 2 | 0.03% | | Bill Richardson | 2 | 0.03% | | Mike Gravel | 1 | 0.02% | | Total | 5,775 | 100% |
Onsite Straw Poll Results | Mike Huckabee | 488 | 51.26% | | Mitt Romney | 99 | 10.40% | | Fred Thompson | 77 | 8.09% | | Tom Tancredo | 65 | 6.83%% | | Rudy Giuliani | 60 | 6.30% | | Duncan Hunter | 54 | 5.67% | | John McCain | 30 | 3.15% | | Sam Brownback | 26 | 2.73% | | Ron Paul | 25 | 2.63% | | Undecided | 11 | 1.16% | | Not Voting | 7 | 0.74% | | Barack Obama | 5 | 0.53% | | Christopher Dodd | 2 | 0.21% | | Dennis Kucinich | 2 | 0.11% | | Joe Biden | 1 | 0.11% | | Hillary Clinton | 0 | 0.00% | | John Edwards | 0 | 0.00% | | Mike Gravel | 0 | 0.00% | | Bill Richardson | 0 | 0.00% | | Total | 952 | 100% |
To read a transcript of each candidate's Briefing address, click on the names below.
Sen. John McCain
Sen. Sam Brownback
Rep. Tom Tancredo
Sen. Fred Thompson
Rep. Duncan Hunter
Rep. Ron Paul
Gov. Mitt Romney
Mayor Rudy Giuliani
Gov. Mike Huckabee
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