Below are two message from Gary Bauer at American Values and Catholic Vote . The messages are similar but compelling in their own way. Easy to do links are provided. It will take you a few seconds to let Ernst know what she needs to do.
As a matter of intelligence gathering if anyone has heard anything at church from the pulpit, or flyer, encouraging the congregation to contact Ernst about this matter please let us know — a simple message in the comment section will do. For example the National Conference of Catholic Bishops has come out against approval of an unamended Respect for Marriage Act, seeing clearly the danger to individual liberty and connected institutions but what are individual Bishops doing? Bold our emphasis.
From Gary Bauer American Values:
Fight For Religious Liberty
The battle raging in the U.S. Senate to redefine marriage is far from over. There will be another critical vote this coming Monday on the (Dis)Respect for Marriage Act.
Senator Mike Lee and 20 of his GOP colleagues are fighting hard to ensure that religious liberty is adequately protected. And we must stand with them now.
As you know, 12 Republican senators broke ranks and supported Chuck Schumer’s effort to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman. They did so after they trusted Senate liberals to safeguard religious liberty. Seriously, what were they thinking?!
This is not a hypothetical issue. Prominent progressive politicians are not shy about threatening the tax-exempt status of churches and faith-based institutions that do not affirm men “marrying” other men.
Monday’s vote involves the rewritten legislation with the left’s version of religious liberty protections. They are too weak. (You can read more here.)
They do not protect individuals and small businesses, and we have already seen too many individuals and small businesses get dragged through the mud because they refused to compromise their deeply held religious beliefs. (Here, here and here.)
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops blasted the legislation as a “bad deal for Americans of faith,” and warned that its so-called “religious liberty” protections are “insufficient.”
The National Religious Broadcasters called the legislation a “betrayal,” adding that the “bipartisan amendment that purported to remedy the bill’s lack of religious liberty protections failed to address the critical issues.”
The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, warns, “This bill, even as amended, does not provide meaningful protection for those that maintain a traditional view of marriage. This amendment invites further confusion and litigation.”
We need at least three of the 12 Republican senators listed below to change their votes. The following links will direct you to their Capitol Hill and state offices. Please call both!
Cynthia Lummis (WY) — Scroll to the bottom of the page.
If these senators represent you, you must make your voice heard on this critically important issue. Melt their phone lines down!
Tell the aide who answers that you expect your senators to protect religious liberty. Tell them to support the Lee Amendment, and to oppose the Respect for Marriage Act until the Lee Amendment is adopted.
From Catholic Vote:
How Catholics Can Urge Republicans to Change their Marriage Vote
These 12 Republicans, whose names and office phone numbers are below, “betrayed their constituents” by voting for the “radical Democrat-backed bill to redefine marriage and attack the religious freedom of those who still believe in marriage between a man and a woman,” CatholicVote stated in an email to Catholics in 10 states.
CONTACT YOUR SENATOR NOW BY CLICKING HERE
Readers can contact the Republican senators who might be persuaded to change their vote to a No either by phone or via CatholicVote’s Quorum page.
Roy Blunt of Missouri, (202) 224-5721
Richard Burr of North Carolina, (202) 224-3154
Thom Tillis of North Carolina, (202) 224-6342
Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, (202) 224-6472
Susan Collins of Maine, (202) 224-2523
Joni Ernst of Iowa, (202) 224-3254
Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, (202) 224-3424
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, (202) 224-6665
Dan Sullivan of Alaska, (202) 224-3004
Rob Portman of Ohio, (202) 224-3353
Mitt Romney of Utah, (202) 224-5251
Todd Young of Indiana, (202) 224-5623
Senators usually ask for feedback from citizens from their own state, so it is imperative that Catholics in these 10 states contact their senators as soon as possible, said CatholicVote Communications Director Joshua Mercer.
RFMA goes further than simply codifying “same-sex marriage” into law, CatholicVote’s Erika Ahern reports:
It would mandate every state to recognize any and all marriages contracted in other states. But not just same-sex “marriages.” Any legal “marriage.”
Of greatest concern to Catholics, the religious freedom “protections” included in the Senate version of the bill are utterly inadequate.
CatholicVote Director of Government Affairs Tom McClusky wrote:
It merely states an insincere recognition of religious liberty and conscience rights, but it does not offer any meaningful protections for those rights. This leaves Catholic individuals and institutions vulnerable to countless lawsuits. Catholic schools, Catholic Charities and other institutions of faith will be vulnerable to multiple lawsuits and government harassment that could threaten their tax-exempt status and ability to serve the public.
CONTACT YOUR SENATOR NOW BY CLICKING HERE
“The Senate still has to vote on this awful bill at least two more times,” said McClusky. “The Republican senators who voted to advance it must be convinced to change their vote!”
