Said Congressman Palazzo, "This week, I took to the House floor to fight for our religious liberties. It seems like everyday there is a new story of our religious rights being trampled upon in the name of equality. This must stop. My full remarks are below and my video is above. I hope you will share this message with others as we fight together to protect our right to practice our faith as we so choose."
Floor Speech from Congressman Steven Palazzo (R-Mississippi)
Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my concern over recent events taking place in my home state and around our nation that tear at the fabric of our country’s First Amendment right to Freedom of Religion.
Time and again, we’ve seen instances in which an individual’s right to practice his or her faith has been subordinated to the sensibilities of individuals who do not share their faith in God.
In Mississippi, we saw it in August when a high school band from Brandon was forbidden from playing the hymn “How Great Thou Art” at a football game. We saw it in September in Lamar County as a teacher was ridiculed and disciplined for posting a voluntary prayer list in her classroom.
Just last week, I, along with 45 other members, joined Congressman Forbes and Senator Lankford in support of Coach Kennedy of Bremerton High School in Washington State. Coach Kennedy’s 8 year tradition of walking to the fifty yard line after the conclusion of football games to say a quiet prayer was banned last month due to the school district’s concern that his actions could be construed as an endorsement of religion.
Recently, we've even seen a Marine Corps Base in Hawaii come under fire for having a road sign read, "God Bless the Military, their families and the citizens who work with them." Wow, even our United States Marines are attacked for exercising their faith.
Opponents of religious freedom have been energized by recent decisions made by the United States Supreme Court as well as lower courts, both of which have placed the cultural views of a small group ahead of the thoughts, feelings, and rights of the vast majority of Americans.
Judicial activism at all levels of the federal judiciary has resulted in the systematic rewriting of centuries-old societal norms. This must end. Time and again, our courts have waded into waters which the Constitution specifically vests in the Legislative branch.
What is at stake here is nothing less than the future of our country’s religious liberties, the religious liberties upon which our very nation was founded.
Those who would have God completely removed from public discourse – be it marriage, health care, or the right of schoolchildren to pray or play religious music during football game halftimes– are pleased with the first part of the Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, . . .”
However, they conveniently ignore the second part: “. . . or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
This amendment was enacted by our framers to protect religion from government, not the reverse.
Families are struggling to keep it together. Single-parent households are at an all time high.
Poverty, incarceration, teenage pregnancy and drug usage are all around us. When and where prayer is needed the most, it is no longer allowed or is forbidden.
How we can try to remove from the public sphere the one thing that holds us together, and that’s our religion. We can no longer simply leave our religion at the church doors, it is our responsibility to live out our values and beliefs in our everyday lives.
Edmund Burke said it best, "The only thing it takes for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
I support the free expression of religion in all quarters of our society, and I stand with Coach Kennedy, the band from Brandon, the teacher in Lamar County and every other American who has been stripped of their religious freedoms.
I am committed to protecting our right to express our faith without fear of governmental intrusion or retaliation. I encourage my colleagues to do the same.
With that Mr. Speaker, God Bless America!
Contact Congressman Palazzo on facebook, twitter or by visiting his website.
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