For Life — The Battle for Values in Virginia — For Liberty
“Unveiling” the Good, the Bad, & the Ugly for 2015
Legislators, Pastors, and “We the People” Taking a Stand
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“Politics is downstream from the Culture, which is downstream from the Church, which is downstream from ‘We the People’, and all of which are downstream from God.” Rakazzi
Summary
In a topsy-turvy, Brave New World in which Winners Lose, Losers Win, Right is Wrong, Wrong is Right, and where Truth, Liberty, Virtue, and Common Sense are often either Silent or Missing in Action, the Forum held its 11th annual “Unveiling” on Monday evening, Dec. 8, at the Rockingham County Administration Center in Harrisonburg.
Against this background, our purpose was to “Unveil” plans for the next General Assembly which convenes on Wednesday, January 14. The challenge before each participant was very simple: “What can we do, through our work in the GA, to help restore Virginia and America to the Judeo-Christian virtues and Constitutional principles on which it was founded?”
The Landscape
As in past years, this Unveiling addresses a moral and spiritual meltdown that has wreaked havoc on Life, on Marriage, on Families, and on Freedom across America.
Here are some examples, beginning with the continued attacks on Life: 1) 22% of all pregnancies end in abortion. That adds up to over 3,000 every day, and approximately 56 million since the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision of 1973. 2) 40% of all babies are now born to single mothers. 3) 33% of children are being raised in single-parent homes.
In addition, natural, God-designed marriage between one man and one woman is also in the crosshairs more than ever before in our history. Thirty-five states now recognize unnatural, same-sex “marriages”. That is up from 14 states one year ago. Many of the newly added states, including Virginia, were forced to do so by activist judges in violation of constitutional law and the separation of powers, and against the will of the people.
Beyond these two core issues of Life and Marriage, the overall situation in Virginia has become much more difficult this year because, rather than defending our laws and our Judeo-Christian values, Gov. Terry McAuliffe and AG Mark Herring and their like-minded Democratic colleagues in the General Assembly are actively leading the charge against them. So, what can we do?
“Unveiling” the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
That was the big question at the Unveiling, and the answer was clear! All participants resolved to redouble their efforts to defend and to promote our core values in the upcoming General Assembly.
Travis Witt, chairman of the TEA Party Patriots Federation, set the scene with a call for another spiritual awakening like those that inspired our independence and helped bring an end to slavery.
Chris Freund, Vice President of The Family Foundation, began with the good news that the abortion rate in Virginia has dropped 24% over the past four years. That is due in part to mandatory ultrasounds for women considering an abortion, to four abortion clinic closings, and to the effectiveness of Pregnancy Center operations and services available throughout Virginia.
He then “Unveiled” a number of specific initiatives for the GA, including the following:
— To defend the freedoms of government leaders, National Guard chaplains, pastors, and students in public schools to pray and to speak openly of their faith,
— To reaffirm the right of adoption agencies to operate in accordance with their religious beliefs,
— To expand education opportunities, including charter schools and education savings accounts,
— To reject efforts to repeal the marriage amendment in the VA Constitution, to weaken abortion clinic health and safety standards, and to add “sexual orientation” to the list of groups that enjoy special protection under VA law.
Delegate Mark Berg confirmed that he will continue to oppose Medicaid expansion in Virginia because of its ineffectiveness and its cost, to protect the privacy of medical records, and to provide greater transparency in and integrity to the budget process, with more to follow. In addition, although Delegate Todd Gilbert was unable to attend, he indicated that he would be focusing on ethics reform legislation.
Rita Dunaway, Deputy Director of the Forum and also staff counsel for the Convention of States Project, described the need to clarify sections of the Constitution which have been wrongly interpreted in ways that allow the federal government to expand its power at the expense of the states and of the people. That must be corrected.
Therefore, a bill will be introduced which, if approved, would add Virginia to the growing number of states that are calling for a Convention to amend the Constitution and to limit federal powers.
Matt Homer, former pastor and now District Representative to Cong. Bob Goodlatte, and Forum Chaplain John Sloop bracketed “The Unveiling” in prayer for our legislators, for our pastors and lay leaders, and for “We the People” in this ongoing battle for Life, Faith, Family, and Freedom
Our Call
This is only a preliminary review of the issues and legislative initiatives that will be considered by the GA. Please stay tuned for updates in the coming weeks as more and more bills are introduced.
This battle is particularly important because Virginia is often viewed as a bellwether of where America is now and where it is going. The Valley is critical to the outcome of this battle for, in many ways, as the Valley goes, so goes the Commonwealth, and therefore, so goes the nation.
Therefore, be prepared to encourage our Valley legislators as they take the point in the General Assembly – often in the face of strong opposition. They deserve our support and our appreciation.
Their contact information is as follows:
Senator Emmett Hanger: district24@senate.virginia.gov
Senator Mark Obenshain: district26@senate.virginia.gov
Senator Jill Vogel: district27@senate.virginia.gov
Delegate Dickie Bell: deldbell@house.virginia.gov
Delegate Rob Bell: delrbell@house.virginia.gov
Delegate Mark Berg: delmberg@house.virginia.gov
Delegate Ben Cline: delbcline@house.virginia.gov
Delegate Todd Gilbert: deltgilbert@house.virginia.gov
Delegate Steve Landes: delslandes@house.virginia.gov
Delegate Tony Wilt: deltwilt@house.virginia.gov
Working together, we can make a difference!
For God and Country,
Dean