'Grass-roots' speech allowed

'Grass-roots' speech
allowed – for now
Proposal recasting Christian groups
as lobbyists still faces many votes

A congressional plan that would have severely restricted the free speech rights of Christian organizations has been eliminated – for now – but leaders of groups that alerted Americans to the idea say there's a long road ahead for the legislation.

The big winners in this battle are the American people. Getting rid of the onerous grass-roots lobbying restrictions in S.1 is a triumph of the representative form of government our Founding Fathers established 230 years ago," said James Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family Action.

He had interrupted his regular schedule of broadcast programs to alert people earlier to the provision in a piece of legislation pending in the Senate that would have imposed huge limits on Christian organizations.

The plan would have required the pro-family groups to provide documentation of their actions to the government any time they try to spark any "grass-roots" action.

Phone calls, personal visits, e-mails, magazines, broadcasts, phone banks, appearances, travel, fund-raising and other items all would be subject to government tabulation, verification and audits, Dobson said during his broadcast. "On and on it goes."

But a vote this week on an amendment from Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, was approved 55-43, deleting plans for the new reams of red tape for Christians for now.

"Many thanks to Sen. Bennett and Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., for their leadership in eliminating an unconstitutional provision from this bill," said Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America. "We also applaud the many Americans who flooded Capitol Hill with calls and e-mails in support of amendment."

She said the plan would have been "an unconstitutional attempt to silence and punish Americans for encouraging citizens to be involved in the political process."

Jay Sekulow, of the American Center for Law and Justice said, however, that while it's good the troubling language was removed from the Senate plan, "we're still deeply concerned that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others will attempt to push through these dangerous restrictions in the House."

The plan to re-classify Christian ministries as "grass-roots lobbyists" could create huge barriers for ministers and leaders to get out the message about Washington's activities on social and moral issues, he said

"Pastors and others who communicate about the moral and political issues of the day have constitutionally-protected free speech rights that would be severely undermined with the passage of (this) legislation," he said.

"The very thing that Section 220 would have denied – namely, the rights of citizens to know what's going on in Washington and to have an impact on the bills considered there – is what fueled this victory," Dobson added. "When Americans – conservatives and liberals alike – learned how these regulations would have stifled their free-speech rights, millions stood up and said, 'We will not be silenced.'"

He said the proposal comes from the Washington insiders' desire to control.

"What is being illustrated here is a passion by congressional liberals to consolidate power and operate within a cloak of secrecy. It is unconscionable and unconstitutional. We will not be intimidated by attempts to criminalize those who would hold Washington accountable. The right to do so is as American as apple pie," Dobson said.

"Thousands of Americans understand that such legislation threatens these constitutional freedoms and have responded in opposition to this measure," Sekulow said. "We are intensifying our efforts on Capitol Hill to focus on challenging this disturbing legislation in the House."

That organization has launched a nationwide petition campaign via e-mail, radio, television and other resources to urge Senate and House leaders to reject the plan. More than 54,000 people signed in just the first few days.

"We are thankful for the victory in the Senate but will now turn up the pressure on the House," he said. "We urge House members to do the right thing and reject this legislation that is not only unacceptable but unconstitutional as well."

The plan, sponsored by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., was listed as a proposal "To provide greater transparency in the legislative process," however Dobson scheduled a special broadcast, and was joined by American Family Association Chairman Donald Wildmon, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins and American Values President Gary Bauer in urging listeners to flood Capitol Hill with phone calls demanding those speech limits be removed.

Dobson noted the American people have had success in the past when advocates for family values such as Focus have alerted them to potential problems, and they've responded by calling their representatives and senators.

One case was when a California Democrat tried to "squash" homeschooling in the United States with restrictive legislation.

"We and others let the world know about it. That bill was going to pass handily, but it got only one vote. That one vote was George Miller's. Everybody else ran for the tall grass, because we let people know about it," he said.

He cited a second time, when there was an attempt to lessen the penalties for child pornography, and "the response from the public was overwhelming. The Justice Department phones were shut down for days. That is a function we and other pro-family organizations have provided, letting people know the things that are done in secret in Washington."

Bauer said members of Congress clearly have been upset in the past when "they've been caught red-handed." He said this legislation "is motivated by that, they don't want the average American to be told … what is going on in this city."

Wildmon said Washington is telling the American public: "We don't want to hear from you, and this is the way we're going to handle it."