FRC Praises House Resolution Condemning Judge Walker's Proposition 8 Decision on Same-Sex 'Marriage'

/PRNewswire/ -- Family Research Council today praised House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) for his resolution condemning Judge Vaughn Walker's decision that declares the U.S. Constitution includes a right to same-sex "marriage."

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins made the following statement regarding the resolution:

"I applaud Rep. Smith for introducing a resolution that condemns Judge Walker's flawed decision and urges its appeal. As the resolution points out, Judge Walker is a single judge who thinks he knows better than seven million Californians and voters in more than 30 states who have approved marriage amendments.

"This is an activist decision by a district-level court judge. Judge Walker is forcing his view on not only the millions of Americans who have voted on this issue, but the history of marriage itself.

"Judge Walker showed disregard for both the Constitution and the will of the significant majority of the American people. What happened last week in California only fuels America's disillusionment with government by the judiciary, not their elected representatives or their own direct votes.

"The judge's opinion ignored the social science, which shows that policies such as no-fault divorce have devalued marriage and truly impacted children.

"I thank Congressman Lamar Smith and his colleagues for introducing this resolution that counters Judge Walker's notion that a child doesn't deserve a mother and a father. This case is far from over, and we hope that common sense will reign when the case makes its way to the United States Supreme Court," concluded Perkins.

FRC Statement on Elena Kagan's Approval by the U.S. Senate

/PRNewswire/ -- Today the U.S. Senate voted 63-37 to confirm Solicitor General Elena Kagan as a Justice to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins had this to say on the vote.

"Elena Kagan will bring a radical judicial philosophy and a history of sharp-edged political maneuvering to the nation's highest legal bench. Her confirmation is another body-blow against genuine constitutional governance.

"Her confirmation is especially troubling in light of yesterday's ruling by a San Francisco federal judge striking down the historical definition of marriage. She has shown repeatedly that she will do exactly what she says a judge should not - creatively reinterpret the written text of the Constitution according to her own convictions.

"Her record is that of a hard-line political activist, one willing to trim the law to fit the contours of personal beliefs.

"As I pointed out in my testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, she denied military recruiters access to Harvard's Law School campus, in direct violation of federal law, because of her admitted disdain for the Armed Forces' ban on homosexuality in the ranks.

"She re-wrote a technical medical document, produced by the American Medical Association, in order to justify the brutal 'partial birth abortion' procedure the late Democratic Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan called 'too close to infanticide.'

"She is open to the application of foreign law to the United States and believes that the commerce clause is not limited, but authorizes federal regulation of nearly any human activity.

"The 36 Republicans and the sole Democrat who stood up for the United States Constitution today deserve the thanks of all citizens who care about the future of our nation. The others who voted for Ms. Kagan voted, by extension, for liberal activism on the nation's highest court. This should not be lost on voters in November and I encourage them to send a strong message to President Obama about appointing federal judges who disregard our founding document."

Judicial Watch Statement Regarding the Pending Retirement of Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens

/PRNewswire/ -- Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton issued the following statement in response to today's announcement of the pending retirement of Justice Stevens:

"President Obama needs to replace Justice Stevens with a person who will apply the Constitution strictly and not substitute their own political beliefs for the rule of law. If President Obama nominates an 'empathetic' liberal judicial activist, he will have a fight on his hands. With looming constitutional challenges ranging from Obamacare to new rights for foreign terrorists, the United State Senate should ensure that only a justice who will strictly interpret the U.S. Constitution is approved. Given the stakes, every U.S. Senator should know that the upcoming Supreme Court vote will be as closely watched as their votes on Obamacare. Tea Party activists ought to be paying close attention to this nomination."

CPPR to Sen. Snowe: Vote No on PO

(BUSINESS WIRE)--With the release of the Senate Finance Committee’s new America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009, the Coalition to Protect Patients’ Rights (CPPR) is urging Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) to oppose any plan to implement a public option health insurance plan that limits patient choice and interferes with the patient-physician relationship. In addition, the Coalition is warning Sen. Snowe to be wary of the Committee’s consideration of both co-ops and triggers, because either could ultimately lead to a public option program.

Maine’s senior senator is being pressured on this issue from all sides. MSNBC reports Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is hinting that Sen. Snowe could cast the deciding vote on reform. And, according to Politico, Sen. Snowe may hold the key to President Obama’s health care agenda. In light of this important role the senator will play in the continuing reform debate – and in support of her prior health care reform efforts – coalition spokesman and former president of the American Medical Association (AMA) Dr. Donald J. Palmisano states:

“Senator Snowe has done a great job of making sure that patients in Maine and throughout the rest of the country have received the kind of care America is known for, the world’s best. She must continue that great work by siding with patients and voting against any attempt to introduce a government-run public health plan that will stifle America’s dynamic health care system. We are also concerned about co-ops and triggers because they could lead to a public option down the not-too-distant road.

“As the Senate begins to debate the new health care bill, it is essential that the best interest of patients remains their top priority. If a public option plan is imposed, not only will patients face higher costs and lower quality care, but the American health care system will have to cope with more government red-tape and less innovative breakthroughs. I am confident that these are not the kind of changes that Senator Snowe has worked her whole life to achieve.”

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Judicial Watch Statement on Obama's Nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the United States Supreme Court

/Standard Newswire/ -- Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton issued the following statement today in response to Barack Obama's decision to nominate Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court:

"Barack Obama is on record saying he favors judges
who will let their 'empathy' or bias for certain
individuals color their decision-making. If Judge
Sotomayor shares Obama's activist judicial
philosophy, U.S. Senators who want to protect the
Constitution will have no choice but to oppose her
nomination.

"Americans want the Supreme Court to make
decisions based on the Constitution and not on some
lawless standard that puts identity politics before the
law. There is no room on the Supreme Court for
someone who will put her feeling and politics above
the rule of law."

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Bauer Expresses Concern That Sotomayor Will Replace the Rule of Law With Her Feelings

/PRNewswire / -- Former presidential candidate Gary Bauer on Tuesday expressed great concern over President Barack Obama's pick of Sonia Sotomayor given her long history of using her feelings as a judicial guide rather than the rule of law.

The president of American Values made the following statement: "Sotomayor's appointment proves what we already knew--that President Obama is committed to packing our federal courts with activist judges who will make policy according to their 'feelings' rather than the requirements of the Constitution.

"Judge Sotomayor admitted in a panel discussion at Duke University Law School in 2005 that she believes the courts are 'where policy is made.' In a 2002 speech at Berkeley, she suggested justice might be better determined by some races than others, saying, 'I would hope that a wise Latino women with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life.'

"In view of these quotes, I urge senators to fully examine Judge Sotomayor's judicial philosophy. The American people deserve to know whether once again we are putting someone on our highest court who thinks her job is to remake America to reflect her leftwing prejudices."

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