מי לה׳ אלי-עת לעשות לה׳ The Time to Act is Now-Call Your Congressman!
Avert חילול ה׳ and חרון אף.
BS”D
L’tza’areinu harav, on Tuesday night was the catastrophic passage in the Senate of the bill which could destroy our society, Bill HR8404, which changes the legal definition of marriage on a national level.
There is still more hishtadlus to make, though, as the bill is not law yet. The House still has to vote on it. This vote could happen any day, but is likely to be next week.
There is no time to lose. We must immediately start calling the representatives in the House who voted for the bill in July, and urge them NOT to support Bill HR8404 this time around.
Here is why this is a critical issue for us:
The bill was called the Respect for Marriage Act. Truly, it’s the Disrespect for Marriage Act.
The bill forces ALL states to recognize to’eiva marriage, whether they like it or not, AND opens the door to unbelievable child abuse as well, as we explain further on.
Bill HR8404 is a war against Hashem.
The bill went through after all the amendments which could have ameliorated the damage, particularly the Lee Amendment, were voted down.
As we wrote earlier this week, if the legal definition of marriage is changed at the federal level, it will make things even worse than they are for our schools in NY, and also make other states just as bad.
This bill could make it impossible for religious people to remain in the US. Lawsuits could be brought against anyone who does not recognize the “marriages.”
They will force the schools to teach their twisted definition of marriage. Not only would our kids chas veshalom have to learn horrible garbage, but anyone who speaks badly about same-gender “marriage” - for example, teaching Parshas Acharei Mos - will be violating the law and may be subject to prosecution by the Department of Justice.
The amendment they included for religious freedom is weak and would not help us. The real religious amendment was voted down.
And while the law is terrible as it is, it is ALSO is a slippery slope which will get much worse, chas veshalom.
While the prospects may not look good, our job is to do our part, and HKB”H will do as He sees fit. We cannot give up. We have a duty min HaTorah to be moicheh.
Remember that exactly this type of law is what brought the mabul.
Registering our protest helps to alleviate the chilul Hashem and the charon af.
Towards the end of this article, you will find a list of names and numbers of Republican members of the House who unfortunately voted yes on this bill in July. Likely, some of them did not have their heart in it, but felt compelled to vote for it for outside reasons. Perhaps your calls can help them understand the importance of sticking up for what they know to be right.
Before the contact list, though, I’ll explain in more detail about the grave harms that the bill will chas veshalom cause our community and society as a whole, so that you can be well-informed when you call, and explain to others the importance of calling, as well.
I’ve taken wording from the Liberty Counsel’s site and an email they sent, which explain some of the dangers.
On Tuesday, all the Democrats and 12 Senate Republicans bowed to the LGBTQ political thugs and passed a bill that will allow the Department of Justice (DOJ) as well as private individuals to sue religious institutions and people of faith. Now HR 8404 returns to the U.S. House where we have another chance to defeat it. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will bring the bill up for a vote within the week. We have a limited time to act. We are now targeting the House.
The day before the vote, the Senate added the Baldwin-Collins amendment to bring together a few Republican votes under the false pretense that this amendment would provide religious accommodation. But this is a sham amendment.
On Tuesday, three amendments that would have provided religious liberty protections were defeated. These were offered by Republican Senators Mike Lee (UT), James Lankford (OK) and Marco Rubio (FL).
The Baldwin-Collins amendment does nothing to protect the religious liberty of individuals or anyone not working at an institution “whose principal purpose is the study, practice, or advancement of religion.” In other words, HR 8404 was drafted to target and disparage your faith.HR 8404 specifically charges the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute anyone who is accused of not honoring, accepting or participating in the “unions” outlined in this bill.
Section 5 (b) of the so-called religious freedom legislation states: “ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL — The Attorney General may bring a civil action in the appropriate United States district court against any person who violates subsection (a) for declaratory and injunctive relief.”
Equally damning, HR 8404 also specifically allows so-called injured parties to sue private individuals who do not support, accept and participate in these sham marriages.
Section 5 (c) states: “PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—Any person who is harmed by a violation of subsection (a) may bring a civil action in the appropriate United States district court against the person who violated such subsection for declaratory and injunctive relief.”California already allows adults to marry children of any age. As a result, there are several instances on the California marriage database of men in their 40s and 50s marrying elementary age children.
If you object to a pedophile marrying a child, YOU can be sued.
If you try to help these children escape their legal bondage to a pedophile, YOU can be sued.
If you refuse to bake a wedding cake or create a website for a same-gender “wedding,” YOU can be sued.
In other words, despite claiming to have a “religious freedom” exemption, this horrible bill targets individuals and most institutions.
Don’t let the DOJ & LGBTQ sue YOU for living your faith! Demand Congress VOTE NO on HR 8404!HR 8404 forces every state and every American to accept, honor and obey the crazy “marriage” laws of any other state. That means California’s warped marriage laws—including pedophile marriages to child brides and same-gender marriages—WILL be forced on your state and on you, personally.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) offered an amendment to close the child bride marriage loophole in the “Respect for Marriage Act,” but that amendment failed. This should tell you everything you need to know about this bill.This is a political stunt with devastating consequences. As it is written, if just one state allowed incestuous marriage (e.g., between a father and daughter or mother and son), this bill would force all 49 states to recognize and respect that “marriage.”
We need to remind House Republicans the people DO NOT endorse the destruction of marriage or religious freedom to appease a rabid LGBTQ political agenda.
We MUST stop this bill. As I said above, the House is poised to vote any day. We have ONE SHOT left at stopping this travesty from becoming law. There is no time to waste. Please, fax the House NOW and demand they VOTE NO on HR 8404.
Help us stop this bill NOW, before it is too late. Even if you have contacted Congress before, please remind them again today, just before they vote, that we the American people REJECT the perverse bill HR 8404!Tell the Members of the House: I urge you to vote against the so-called “Respect for Marriage Act.”
Truly, we must daven very hard.
In addition to davening, let’s start calling.
Here are the names and numbers. Please call - for the honor of Hashem and for the sake of our future!
WE MUST FLOOD THE REPRESENTATIVES WITH PHONE CALLS EXPRESSING OUR HORROR AT BILL HR8404 AND URGING THEM TO VOTE AGAINST IT!
Since this is a long list, we are asking each person to call at least the few members listed under the last digit of your own phone number. (For example, if your own cell number ends in 6331, call David, Kat, and Mario, listed next to #1.) If you have time, please try to call more.
These calls are critical to avert a Chilul Hashem. We cannot remain silent!
Tizke lemitzvos!
0 Ken Calvert California (202) 225-1986
0 Mike Garcia California (202) 225-1956
0 Darrell Issa California (202) 225–5672
0 Jay Obernolte California (202) 225-5861
1 David Valadao California (202) 225-4695
1 Kat Cammack Florida (202) 225-5744
1 Mario Diaz-Balart Florida (202) 225-4211
1 Carlos Giménez Florida (202) 225-2778
1 Brian Mast Florida (202) 225-3026
2 María Elvira Salazar Florida (202) 225-3931
2 Mike Waltz Florida (202) 225-2706
2 Mike Simpson Idaho (202) 225-5531
2 Rodney Davis Illinois (202) 225-2371
2 Adam Kinzinger Illinois (202) 225-3635
3 Ashley Hinson Iowa (202) 225-2911
3 Mariannette Miller-Meeks Iowa (202) 225-6576
3 Peter Meijer Michigan (202) 225-3831
3 Fred Upton Michigan (202) 225-3761
3 Tom Emmer Minnesota (202) 225-2331
4 Ann Wagner Missouri (202) 225-1621
4 Don Bacon Nebraska (202) 225-4155
4 Jefferson Van Drew New Jersey (202) 225-6572
4 Andrew Garbarino New York (202) 225-7896
4 John Katko New York (202) 225-3701
5 Nicole Malliotakis New York (202) 225-3371
5 Elise Stefanik New York (202) 225-4611
5 Lee Zeldin New York (202) 225-3826
5 Chris Jacobs New York (202) 225-5265
5 Kelly Armstrong North Dakota (202) 225-2611
6 Mike Carey Ohio (202) 225-2015
6 Anthony Gonzalez Ohio (202) 225-3876
6 David Joyce Ohio (202) 225-5731
6 Mike Turner Ohio (202) 225-6465
6 Cliff Bentz Oregon (202) 225-6730
7 Brian Fitzpatrick Pennsylvania (202) 225-4276
7 Dan Meuser Pennsylvania (202) 225-6511
7 Scott Perry Pennsylvania (202) 225-5836
7 Nancy Mace South Carolina (202) 225-3176
7 Tom Rice South Carolina (202) 225-9895
8 Tony Gonzalez Texas (202) 225-4511
8 John Curtis Utah (202) 225-7751
8 Blake Moore Utah (202) 225-0453
8 Burgess Owens Utah (202) 225-3011
9 Chris Stewart Utah (202) 225-9730
9 Dan Newhouse Washington (202) 225-5816
9 Bryan Steil Wisconsin (202) 225-3031
9 Liz Cheney Wyoming (202) 225-2311
Please try to call each one and urge them to VOTE NO this time!
Here is some wording which can be used to explain the harm that the bill will cause to children:
A healthy marriage is the foundation of society that teaches children how a man and a woman should interact and care for each other. But this bill will attack and destroy the foundation of our nation, which is critical to any society that cares for its long-term stability and health.
Bringing children into the world within marriage and providing them a stable home with a married father and mother fully committed to each other is the way that G-d set up the world to run - to protect children! Children raised outside of this protective, nurturing, stable environment are so much more likely to fall prey to the current plagues of drugs, crime, suicide, depression, self harm, child gender mutilation, etc. Standing up for traditional marriage means not only taking a stand for G-d, but also for the kids, and for the continuation of society.
By the way, all those current plagues of society were purposely created by reshaim who are doing their best to rip people away from Hashem and rip families apart.
See our article from Elul to understand more:
For more information on Bill HR8404 and the meaningless amendment that it passed the Senate with, see:
Let’s do our best to stand on the side of HKB”H and alleviate the Chilul Hashem as much as possible.
Whether the bill passes or not is not up to us, but if we do our best to stop it, we have accomplished something very important.
Tizke lemitzvos!