AFA of PA ACTION ALERT

Philadelphia Mayor John Street to Perform Same-Sex Marriage Ceremony!

This coming Saturday will be another dark day in the history of the City of Brotherly Love. Even though Mayor Street has officiated over less than ten marriages during his two terms as mayor, he has chosen to be involved in yet another one on Saturday. But he will not be uniting a bride and groom in marriage, but two men – one of which is his Deputy Secretary of External Affairs. These activities will be taking place in Philadelphia’s City Hall.

The Mayor has insisted that this is not really marriage, but homosexual activists view it quite differently. The ‘groom and groom’ view it as a political statement and from neighboring New Jersey, Steven Goldstein, chairman of Garden State Equality said, "Every single time a public official like Mayor Street performs a ceremony, it strengthens the case for marriage equality."

What kind of message is the mayor sending to Philadelphians and the rest of Pennsylvania – especially the children of this state?

If the Mayor’s actions disturb you, please consider contacting his office. Click here to read the news release.

ACTION NEEDED:

1.) Contact Philadelphia Mayor John Street at mayor@phila.gov Please also consider calling the mayor’s Executive Secretary Betty Kibler at (215) 686-2181 or his Chief of Staff Joyce Wilkerson at (215) 686-7508.

AFA of PA ACTION ALERT

November 16, 2007

Now That PA’s Hate Crimes Law is Unconstitutional, What’s Next?

If you didn’t get the news – the PA hate crimes law was declared unconstitutional in a court decision yesterday. Click here to read our news release.

Attorney General Tom Corbett has thirty days to decide if he will appeal the decision to the PA Supreme Court.

Governor Rendell is already calling on the legislature “to immediately approve appropriate legislation reinstating the measure.”

So, what can we do in the meantime? We have yet another chance to stop the effort to add ‘actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity’ to the PA hate crimes law. Call your State Senator and State Representative and encourage them to not support any new hate crimes bill.

Some facts to consider:

q Hate crime laws are unnecessary – are there any violent crimes not driven by hate? Legislators said back in 2002 said this bill was meant to deal with blood on the streets . . . thugs and hooligans. The arrest of the Philadelphia Eleven proved that wrong! Click here to read the timeline and quotes from legislators.

q According to FBI Stats there were 118 ‘hate crimes’ in Pennsylvania in 2005 – the most recent statistics available.

q Homosexual men are in more danger of violence from their partners than from someone who does not agree with their lifestyle.

ACTION NEEDED:

1.) Please consider contacting your State Senator and State Representative at their district office over Thanksgiving break. Click here for contact information. If you don’t know who your state legislator is, please enter your county or zip code in the upper right hand corner of this webpage.

AFA of PA ACTION ALERT

November 8, 2007

1.) ENDA Passes – How did your Congressman vote?

2.) Update on Hate Crimes

1.) Last night the Employment Non-Discrimination Act - H.R. 3685 -- passed in the U.S. House. It did not include ‘gender identity’ language, but is still a very dangerous bill. The vote was 235-184 which is not veto proof. Here’s the vote breakdown: Yeas – Democrats 200, Republicans 35; Nos – Democrats 25, Republicans 159. Click here to see how our Pennsylvania Congressmen voted on ENDA.

The passage of ENDA adds ‘sexual orientation’ to hiring laws that will affect all businesses with 15 or more employees – including Christian businesses like bookstores, publishers and coffee houses. Additionally, even though the words ‘gender identity’ are not in the bill, under the term “perceived,” in Section 4 transgenders, etc., can still claim protection. Under Section 4 of this bill, workplace discrimination is prohibited as follows: “It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to the compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment of the individual, because of such individual's actual or perceived sexual orientation . . .”

House Republican Whip Roy Blunt (Mo.) said in a statement, “In this case, the so-called ‘Employment Non-Discrimination Act’ creates a legal quagmire for employees who practice, or even acknowledge, their religious beliefs – depending on where they happen to work, and subject to judicial interpretation. In the process, it erodes a basic, fundamental right bestowed upon us by our Creator – and a right guaranteed to every American under the U.S. Constitution.”

“As a former president of a Baptist college in Missouri, supporters of this bill have been quick to assure me that its most onerous provisions would not apply to that school. But no such exemption is available for Christian bookstore owners, as an example, or any other small business in which people of faith and deep religious conviction are relied upon as an integral part of the workforce.” Click here to read the entire article in Human Events.

2.) The hate crimes bill has drifted into the background as the ENDA debate has taken the forefront in recent weeks. There is still a chance that the hate crimes amendment can be stripped from the Defense Reauthorization Act before it reaches the President’s desk! Progress on the bill continues to be made with leaders in the Senate and House working to iron out differences between the House and Senate versions of the Defense Authorization bill. The Senate version contains the hate crimes language while the House version does not. The House passed the hate crimes bill as a stand alone measure.

Several Congressional aides have said House and Senate lawmakers seeking to resolve differences between competing versions of the FY08 defense authorization bill hope to wrap up their conference talks in the next several days and pass the bill before the Thanksgiving recess. Committee leaders are still weighing whether to include in the final bill unrelated hate crimes language that passed on the Senate’s version of the authorization measure.

The President has indicated he will veto the Defense Authorization Act if it contains the hate crimes language when it reaches his desk, but with the ongoing war on terror that would place him in an awkward situation. We still have a chance to make a difference!

ACTION NEEDED:

1.) How did your Congressman vote on ENDA? If he or she voted ‘yes’ let them know your thoughts on forcing your business or your place of employment to hire homosexuals and bisexuals. If he voted ‘no,’ please call him to say ‘thanks’ for taking a stand for businesses in Pennsylvania. Click here for contact information.

2.) Please CALL the following and urge them to STRIP the Hate Crimes Amendment from the Defense Authorization Act!

Senate Armed Services Committee:
Chairman:                  Carl Levin (D-MI)       202-224-6221
Ranking Mbr:           John McCain (R-AZ) 202-224-2235

House Armed Services Committee:
Chairman:                   Ike Skelton (D-4, MO)            202-225-2876
Ranking Mbr:            Duncan Hunter (R-52, CA)   202-225-5672

AFA of PA ACTION ALERT

October 16, 2007

Vote on New ENDA Expected in House Committee on Thursday

In recent weeks there has been an ongoing debate among homosexual/transgender groups about whether to include ‘gender identity’ in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. At the present time Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) has introduced a new version of ENDA that does not include that language – H.R. 3685. Remember this is the federal bill that will require all employers with fifteen or more employees to hire homosexuals and bisexuals.

Homosexual and transgender groups are in an uproar and are putting extreme pressure on Congressmen to support the old version of ENDA – H.R. 2015. But Congressman Frank is moving forward and has introduced H.R. 3685 with the ‘sexual orientation’ language and H.R. 3686 with ‘gender identity’ language. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has promised homosexual activists that as soon as they have the votes, she will fast track the bill with the ‘gender identity’ language.

Supposedly religious organizations are exempt in this new version, but here’s the definition in the bill: “RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION- The term `religious organization' means--

(A) a religious corporation, association, or society; or

(B) a school, college, university, or other educational institution or institution of learning, if--

(i) the institution is in whole or substantial part controlled, managed, owned, or supported by a particular religion, religious corporation, association, or society; or

(ii) the curriculum of the institution is directed toward the propagation of a particular religion.”

This definition may exempt churches, but it places parachurch ministries at grave risk. Recently one court found that a United Methodist children’s home was not a ‘religious’ organization under a very similar definition in the 1964 Civil Rights Law. Another court recently devised a nine-part, subjective ‘balancing’ test to decide whether a Jewish community center was ‘religious’ under the very same federal law. Two of these ‘secularizing’ factors included ‘under direct control of a church’ and provide ‘secular products’ such as food shelter, and counseling. This would describe many parachurch organizations, thus they would not be exempt from the provisions of H.R. 3685 and would be required to hire homosexuals and bisexuals.

Neither H.R. 3685 nor H.R. 3686 allow an employer to provide separate bathroom facilities for ‘sexually confused individuals.’

That’s just a quick update of what has been going on in Washington over the past couple weeks . . . the effort is still very much alive to force all employers with 15 or more employees to hire homosexuals, bisexuals and transgender individuals.

H.R. 3685 is currently in the House Committee on Education and Labor and a vote is anticipated on Thursday, October 18^th. Three PA Congressmen are on that Committee.

ACTION NEEDED:

1.) If Congressman Joe Sestek (D-7^th), Congressman Jason Altmire (D-4^th), or Congressman Todd Russell Platts (R-19^th) represent you in Washington, please call them and ask them to vote “No” on H.R. 3685 when it comes up for a vote on Thursday, October 18^th.

2.) If your Congressman is not listed above, please call him or her and ask for a “No” vote on H.R. 3685, when it comes to the floor of the House for a vote. Click here to find your Congressman. Key in your nine-digit zip code in the upper left hand corner.

Talking Points:

1.) H.R. 3685 will be a direct assault on religious liberties

2.) H.R. 3685 takes away freedom from an employer to do what is best for his company.

3.) H.R. 3685 will most negatively impact the majority of businesses in America – the small business, which is the very backbone of America’s economy.

AFA of PA ACTION ALERT

October 15, 2007

Board of Governors Agree on Faculty Contract - -not good news!

On October 11th the Board of Governors of the PA State System of Higher Education voted to give domestic partner benefits to the same-sex partners of homosexual faculty members. Only two Representatives of the five elected officials who are on the Board voted against it. Those were Representative Matthew Baker and Representative Mike Hanna. Click here to read the news release issued on Friday.

ACTION NEEDED:

1.) Please contact Representatives Matt Baker (R-68) and Mike Hanna (D-76) and tell them ‘thanks’ for taking a stand for marriage and the family in their ‘no’ vote on the PA State System of Higher Education faculty contract. Click here for Representative Baker’s contact info and here for Representative Hanna’s.

AFA of PA ACTION ALERT

October 10, 2007

1.) Ask Your Congressman to Uphold President Bush’s Veto of S-Chip

2.) Is this coming to a school district near you?

1.) On October 3^rd President Bush vetoed the greatly expanded State Children’s Health Insurance Program or S-CHIP bill. S-CHIP’s original goal was to provide health insurance for children whose family income is too high to qualify for Medicaid and too low to afford health insurance.

Here are some stats:

q Would include an increase up to $50 billion over five years. President Bush has said he would agree to a $5 billion or 20% increase over five years.

q Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has admitted that "this legislation moves us a giant step further down the road to nationalizing health care."

q A provision covers moms-to-be, but not their children. The unborn are not recognized!

q Expansion of S-CHIP would include families who are 300% to 400% above poverty level – that’s about $82,000 for a family of four. In 2005, about 55% of the eligible children already had private health insurance.

q In 2006, SCHIP spent approximately $8 billion to cover 7.4 million individuals.

q SCHIP currently enrolls 6.6 million children. In reality, about 700,000 children actually qualify as “needy.”

q Additionally, SCHIP currently enrolls some 670,000 adults.

q A 156% increase in federal cigarette taxes, from .39 cents to $1.00 per pack, is expected to provide the $35 to $50 billion over five years. This would require millions of new smokers to purchase enough cigarettes to provide the tax money. Additionally, poor families are hit the hardest with cigarette taxes.

Efforts are currently underway to try and ‘convince’ enough Congressman to switch their ‘No’ votes. H.R. 976 passed in the House on September 25^th by a vote of 265 to 159. Click here to see how your Congressman voted. Two days later the S-CHIP expansion passed in the Senate by a veto proof majority of 67 to 29 with both PA Senators voting for it.

2.) Recently the AFA of PA uncovered the fact that the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network had a conference last month to tell interested students, teachers and others how to start a Gay Straight Alliance or GSA at their school. In response to this, the AFA of PA sent an information packet to all 44 school districts in Allegheny County. These packets provided information about the liability of schools who promote the homosexual lifestyle. Click here to read our news release. What’s your school doing?

ACTION NEEDED:

1.) Contact your U.S. Congressman and ask him or her to truly support needy children and to not support any effort to override President Bush’s veto of S-CHIP. This program must be trimmed down to get it back on course to help the neediest of children, not those who have existing health insurance or adults. Click here for contact information. Two phone calls would be the best – as they are getting phone calls from those who want President Bush’s veto overridden. Please call both their D.C. and the district office nearest you. Make sure you let them know that you are a constituent. If Congressman John Peterson, Joe Pitts, or Bill Shuster is your Representatives tell them ‘thanks’ for voting not to expand S-CHIP.

2.) Is your school district considering a Gay Straight Alliance? If so, please contact the AFA of PA.

AFA of PA ACTION ALERT

October 4, 2007

Did Your Congressman Vote to Recognize the Islamic Holy Month of Ramadan?

On October 2 the U.S. House passed House Resolution 635 which officially recognizes the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. It passed by a vote of 376 to 0 with 42 members voting ‘Present.” How did your Congressman vote – click here to see – but I can save you time – EVERY Pennsylvania Congressman voted for it!!

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) recognizes the Islamic faith as one of the great religions of the world;

(2) expresses friendship and support for Muslims in the United States and worldwide;

(3) acknowledges the onset of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting and spiritual renewal, and conveys its respect to Muslims in the United States and throughout the world on this occasion;

(4) rejects hatred, bigotry, and violence directed against Muslims, both in the United States and worldwide; and

(5) commends Muslims in the United States and across the globe who have privately and publicly rejected interpretations and movements of Islam that justify and encourage hatred, violence, and terror.

ACTION NEEDED:

1.) If you’d like to discuss this matter with your U.S. Congressman or his/her staff, click here for contact information.

AFA of PA ACTION ALERT

October 3, 2007

1.) Vote on HB 288 – to require hospitals to provide Plan B to sexual assault victims

2.) Last Day to Register to Vote for November Election

1.) A vote is planned in the State House TODAY on HB 288 which would require ALL hospitals and healthcare providers in Pennsylvania to not only provide information about Plan B and other abortifacient drugs – but to administer it upon request. Please contact your Representative and ask him or her to vote ‘No’ not only on HB 288 but any amendments designed to weaken this bill. Such amendments would make it appear ‘more acceptable’ and more likely to pass i.e. an amendment to allow exceptions for religious hospitals would still require all other hospitals in PA to administer these drugs.

2.) Last day to register to vote in the November 6^th election is Tuesday October 9^th. Voter registration applications must be postmarked by that date. This is a very important election – as all are – many judicial candidates will be voted upon.

ACTION NEEDED:

1.) Contact your State Representative by clicking here. If you do not know who your State Representative is, you can key in your nine-digit zip code in the upper right hand corner. Ask him or her to vote ‘No’ not only on HB 288 but any amendments designed to weaken this bill.

2.) To download the voter registration form click here and then click on the “Voter Registration” button in the left side bar. Remember it must be postmarked by October 9^th. You can also register at your County Courthouse Voter Registration office. Check your phone book’s blue pages for the phone number.

General Pace Reiterates that Homosexual Acts are Immoral – Is Jeered by Onlookers

During testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace, was given an opportunity to clarify his ‘homosexual acts are immoral’ remarks from a March interview.

General Pace once again said homosexual acts are wrong and should not be permitted in the military any more than adultery should be condoned. Senator Tom Harkin D-Iowa, thinks both the homosexual and adultery policies in the U.S. Military Code of Justice need to be changed.

On Wednesday General pace said, “ . . . that we should respect those who want to serve the nation but not through the law of the land, condone activity that, in my upbringing, is counter to God's law."

In June President Bush announced he was not re-nominating General Pace for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff position. General Pace retires on September 30^th.

1.) Take a few minutes to tell General Pace ‘thanks’ for his service to the country, his willingness to take a public stand for morality and the military ban on homosexuals serving in the military. Click here to leave your comments.

1.) Senate Resolution 48 was introduced on March 12, 2007 and referred to the Senate Aging and Youth Committee. We have it from a good source that the Chairman of this Committee, Senator Patricia Vance, will take steps to see it doesn’t get out of committee. Part of it states, “RESOLVED, That the Senate find that every child should be screened for mental illness once in their youth in order to identify mental illness and prevent suicide among youths and that the screening and identification process should employ evidence- based initiatives . . . .”