Event Nov 14th: Boiling Springs, South Carolina — A Tea Party Movement
Statement of Bill Conner on today’s court ruling finding the “I Believe” license plate unconstitutional
Joshua Gross November 10 at 5:44pm
In response to today’s court ruling finding the “I Believe” license plate unconstitutional, Bill Connor released the following statement:
“It’s unfortunate that another federal judge decided to stretch the Establishment Clause to curtail an individual’s right to religious expression.
I wrote in January’s Greenville News and will say it again. Many folks simply wish to express their free speech rights guaranteed by our First Amendment. I hope that the Attorney General’s office will appeal this latest decision and continue to defend South Carolinians’ constitutional rights.”
Statement of Lt. Governor André Bauer in Charleston Nov. 10 regarding I Believe tag ruling
I have asked you to meet me at Charleston’s Four Corners of Law, which is a most appropriate place to tell you how disappointed I am in Judge Currie’s ruling.
She talks about an abstract separation of church and state, yet here we stand at the Four Corners of Law, where city, county, and federal courthouses stand with St Michael’s Church on real ground in a real world.
She talks about separation of church and state, yet history records that on “April 27, 1789, the Senate, and two days later the House passed a resolution in Congress giving instructions with regard to the Inauguration of George Washington as the first President of the United States:
Resolved, that after the oath shall have been administered to the President, he, attended by the Vice President, and the members of the Senate, and House of Representatives, proceed to St. Paul’s Chapel, to hear divine service, to be performed by the Chaplain of Congress already appointed.”
Our country began with divine guidance, and on this eve of Veterans Day, I tell you it continues to need divine guidance.
The judge says a simple license plate “amounts to a state endorsement not only of religion in general, but of a specific sect in particular.”
For those who say proclaiming “I believe” violates the constitution by giving preference to Christianity, I think this lawsuit clearly discriminates against persons of faith. I will ask the state Attorney General to vigorously appeal this ruling because it is time that people stand up for their beliefs. Enough is enough.
I could say that Currie is a liberal judge appointed by Bill Clinton who is using her personal wishes to overrule the Legislature and the will of the thousands of South Carolinians who want to purchase the tags.
I could say that this is yet another example of judicial activism, of federal judges out of control. My instincts tell me that it’s even deeper than that. I think it’s another attack on Christianity and I’m not going to sit by and watch this one happen.
I am personally offended by Judge Currie’s ruling and especially her awarding legal fees to the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and Americans United for Separation of Church and State. If these national groups are so strongly opposed to letting South Carolinians have a choice about their automobile tags, then let them pay their own legal fees. She is chiding the lieutenant governor for what she claims to be a waste of the taxpayers’ money, but then she turns around and awards these groups their legal fees.
Above all, I believe an automobile tag is a matter of choice. I believe that every South Carolinian has the right to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles and choose among dozens and dozens of license plates the one particular tag that reflects something they want to share with the rest of the world about their personality and beliefs.
I am proud and unrelenting in my support of the Legislature’s unanimous enactment of this plate.
Why? Because the “I believe” plate reflects core values that are meaningful to our society, promoting love, joy, and comfort in our spiritual lives, and accommodating to every citizen’s right of free exercise of any and all religions.
I believe that every citizen has the constitutional protections of free speech and expression. I don’t understand why witnessing for fundamental, enduring values is controversial or threatening.
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DEMINT, BARRETT, BROWN AND WILSON URGE PRESIDENT OBAMA TO REMOVE SOUTH CAROLINA FROM CONSIDERATION AS NEW HOME FOR GITMO TERRORISTS
| For Immediate Release November 4, 2009 |
Contact: Emily Tyner Press Secretary 202-225-5301 |
WASHINGTON, DC—Yesterday, Congressman J. Gresham Barrett (SC-03) sent a letter to President Obama urging him to develop a detention process that would keep Guantanamo Baydetainees from entering the United States under any circumstances. Senator Jim DeMint, Congressman Henry E. Brown (SC-01) and Congressman Joe Wilson (SC-02) joined Congressman Barrett in signing the letter to President Obama. The full text of the letter is included below.
Dear Mr. President:
We, the undersigned, strongly oppose the transfer of any detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cubato United States soil to include any state or federal facility in the State of South Carolina, including the Naval Consolidated Brig in North Charleston.
The terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay present a serious threat to the safety and security of the American people. Transferring any of these detainees to the United States will make our nation’s citizens a greater target for terrorism. Any such move is irresponsible, ill-advised, and we will oppose it vigorously.
Therefore, we respectfully urge you to develop a detention process that keeps these known terrorists off of United States soil and out of South Carolina. Thank you for your time and consideration of this matter.
Sincerely,
Jim DeMint
Member of Congress
J. Gresham Barrett
Member of Congress
Henry E. Brown
Member of Congress
Joe Wilson
Member of Congress
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Office of the Speaker
SOUTH CAROLINA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Greg Foster
October 30, 2009
(803) 734-3125
Terrorists Should Not Be Moved to SC
Speaker Harrell comments about attempt to move detainees to North Charleston
(Columbia, SC) – In response to the news that President Obama plans to move detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to the Naval Brig in North Charleston, SC, House Speaker Bobby Harrell issued the following statement:
“South Carolina will do everything in our power to protect the public, but the bottom line is that the President should not be allowing these terrorists onto American soil.”
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