Newsletter - Protecting American Values
Letter
Newsletter - Protecting American Values
Greetings residents of Texas District 24. This week the United States House focused on initiatives that speak to American values. We voted on the Marriage Protection Amendment, legislation defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman. We also voted on the Pledge Protection Act, a bill to prevent activist federal judges from denying citizens the right to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
Although the Marriage Protection Amendment failed to garner the 2/3 votes required to pass a constitutional amendment, it is important for the House to have this debate. America needs to know where its leaders stand. Marriage is an indispensable institution, a tradition that this nation has holds dear.
We need legislation to protect the sacred institution of marriage from judges who seek to use the court system to redefine it. This bill was drafted in a manner that ensures the democratic process at the state level will decide the allocation of the benefits and privileges associated with marriage, not unelected activist judges. Rest assured, the marriage debate will continue to be heard through the halls of Congress in the future.
The House did pass the Pledge Protection Act, which gives state courts authority to rule on the constitutionality of the Pledge for their state only. When our Founding Fathers ratified the First Amendment, their intention was not to remove all mention of religion from public life. They strove to prevent government from coercing people into becoming members of a particular religion or penalizing people for their religious beliefs. Since the birth of this nation, Americans have been people of faith. The Pledge of Allegiance acknowledges this fact.
We are strongly committed to upholding the basic principles upon which this country was founded. The tradition of marriage and the Pledge of Allegiance are pillars of American society. We bring these initiatives forward on behalf of the American people.
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