Obama blasted for twisting Constitution

Freedom of religion called 'right to live out faith in public  square'

 

By Michael F. Haverluck

It was Barack Obama’s recent proclamation of a “Religious Freedom Day” that  was the tipping point for Family Research  Council President Tony Perkins, causing him to speak out.

He said on top of Obama’s abysmal record protecting religious freedom, he’s  now misrepresenting the Constitution’s references to faith.

“President Obama issued a proclamation declaring today ‘Religious Freedom  Day,’” Perkins said. “However, the first sentence of his proclamation emphasizes  the sacredness of the ‘freedom of worship.’

“I would remind the president that the Constitution does not guarantee us  only freedom of worship but also the freedom of religion.”

Perkins explained that freedom of religion is far more.

“The two are very different,” Perkins pointed out. “Freedom of religion goes  further by guaranteeing the right to live out one’s faith not only in the  privacy of his or her home but in the public square as well.”

He suggest the designation by Obama Jan. 16 was hypocritical.

“While President Obama’s proclamation extols the ‘freedom of worship,’ his  administration has the worst record protecting religious liberty in American  history,” Perkins said. “Last year, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced  that, pursuant to Obamacare, employers would be required to provide  sterilizations and contraceptives, including some that can cause abortions.”

Christian company owners already are contesting in court government orders to  violate their faith by paying for abortifacients demanded under Obamacare.

Perkins insists that the president has shown a flagrant disregard for the  sanctity of human life through his policies forcing employers to act contrary to  their sincerely held religious beliefs.

Perkins noted  the mandate has led to litigation by the retail chain  Hobby Lobby, which is privately owned by a Christian family.

“Their company will soon face Obamacare penalties of approximately $1.3  million per day because of the Obama administration’s mandate restricting the  free exercise of their religious beliefs,” he said.

And Obama’s refusal to stand by religious organizations goes across the  board, Perkins asserted.

“The Obama administration’s Health and Human Services Department also stopped  supporting the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in their efforts to  combat human trafficking,” Perkins added. “Previously the USCCB had been the  primary recipient of HHS grant funding on the issue of human trafficking, but  despite career HHS staff recommendations, the Obama administration’s HHS  department cut the USCCB’s funding. The administration did so by changing the  requirements of the grant to include language indicating that strong preference  would be given to groups that provide abortions.”

 

Perkins charged that the president, who has already been dubbed the most  pro-abortion president in U.S. history, takes a clear stand against biblical  principles and for the culture of death.

“The Obama administration put abortion ahead of religious liberty, and  trafficked women suffer for it,” he said.

According to Perkins, the president’s blatant disregard for religious liberty  doesn’t get any better abroad.

“President Obama’s record of defending religious liberty overseas has been  terrible as well,” Perkins said. “When in late 2011 the Egyptian army and  government forces killed 28 Coptic Christians who were peacefully protesting in  Cairo’s Maspero area, the U.S. reaction was disturbingly muted, and ignored the  fact that Coptic Christians had been killed while protesting previous acts of  religious intolerance and violence.”

But is the president’s reluctance to stand up for religious freedom primarily  focused on Christian faith? Perkins seems to think so, pointing out Obama’s bold  stand against discrimination against Muslims.

“The Obama administration’s remarks stand in sharp contrast with their  pointed, forceful comments regarding two attacks on a mosque that took place in  northern Israel at roughly the same time,” contended Perkins, who questions the  president’s policy of appeasement, apologies and support for Islam.

And to Perkins, the Obama administration’s eagerness to back Islamic groups  is as evident as his unwillingness to stand against and condemn militant  Muslims

“The State Department has refused to declare Boko Haram, the vicious al  Qaida-linked jihadist group operating primarily in Nigeria, to be a ‘foreign  terrorist organization,’” Perkins continued. “Boko Haram espouses the  establishment of a Shariah-based government, and has reportedly killed at least  3,000 Nigerians, mostly Christians, since 2009. Those on both the left and right  are incredulous that the administration failed to take this step.”

FRC isn’t the only group to have noticed Obama’s position on religious  freedom.

American Center for Law and Justice  Executive Director Jordan Sekulow believes Obama has let many down  internationally.

“As President Obama proclaimed, ‘Today, we also remember that religious  liberty is not just an American right; it is a universal human right to be  protected here at home and across the globe,’” Sekulow stated. “However, today,  an American pastor, Saeed Abedini, is in prison in Iran facing a trial … solely  because of his religious beliefs, his Christian faith.”

Sekulow was disappointed that the president’s rhetoric didn’t match his  policies when it comes to protecting the religious liberty of Americans  overseas.

“For the most part, [Abedini] has been abandoned by the U.S. government,” the  ACLJ director and radio show host contended. “The state department has merely  expressed its ‘serious concerns’ about his case, but did not call for his  release, and the White House has taken a question about his case with no  response.”

Faith leaders also note other assaults by the president on religious  liberty.

Early in Obama’s first term, he refused to carry through on his presidential  obligation to defend the federal Defense of Marriage Act in court challenges.  Now, the president is looking to do away with DOMA, which limits marriage to one  man and one woman nationally.

Obama also backed the homosexual agenda by getting rid of the “Don’t Ask,  Don’t Tell” practice for the U.S. military, which normalized homosexual behavior  in the ranks and infringed on the religious beliefs of many in the service. Part  of that process has impacted the rights of military chaplains, who are being  pressured to conduct same-sex weddings in violation of their faith.

Perkins suggested it’s a shameful record.

“We should cast a skeptical eye on President Obama’s professions of support  for religious liberty and look to his actions to understand his relative lack of  sympathy for the free exercise of religion,” he said.

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/01/obama-blasted-for-twisting-constitution/#0Z0zs0IJrSFJicMH.99