====== FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ======
America First Party
1630 A 30th Street #111
Boulder, Colorado 80301
http://www.AmericaFirstParty.org
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Bush Betrays Life, Betrays Constitution ... Again
Boulder, CO -- In response to the Bush Administration's recent argument before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate the pro-abortion "Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act" (FACE Act) in the case of USA -v- Bird, National Chairman Dan Charles issued the following statement:
"For more than a decade, Pro-Life and Pro-Constitution activists have sought to have the FACE Act overturned. Its purpose is to unconstitutionally single out Pro-Life First Amendment speech and criminalize its expression under an abuse of the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. Pro-Life activists decried President Clinton's signing of this bill, but now those who supported the President's re-election are giving silent assent to the President's latest attack on the Pro-Life cause.
"President Bush claims to be Pro-Life. He claims to support the Constitution, limited government and the federalist system. He claims these are core principles, for himself and the GOP. On November 2nd, many voters supported him for those reasons.
"President Bush has again betrayed those voters and those principles. He has again betrayed the Constitution and the innocent unborn. Before the election, he tried unsuccessfully to convince the Supreme Court that RICO should be used to criminalize peaceful Pro-Life activists. Since the election, President Bush has again taken sides with NOW and Planned Parenthood to silence Pro-Life activists and unlawfully expand the police powers of the federal government.
"Frank Bird's alleged actions in this case are criminal. Vandalism cannot be tolerated by a civilized society, whatever the motivation. The state of Texas and the City of Houston can and should fine and jail him if he is found guilty, but the Federal Government has no business prosecuting purely local criminal activity.
"The America First Party applauds Judge Kenneth Hoyt's decision to throw out federal charges under the unconstitutional FACE Act. We condemn the Bush Administration for flying a Washington based Assistant to Attorney General John Ashcroft to argue for reinstatement of the charges on appeal.
"Our nation's Founders were deeply concerned about federal police powers. They wanted to ensure that local governments have local jurisdiction over local crimes. The Supreme Court has rightly ruled that the federal government has no constitutional authority to regulate completely local, non-economic conduct that has no substantial impact on interstate commerce, no matter how wrong that conduct may be. Judge Hoyt's ruling is based on that precedent and ought to be upheld.
"Too often, the FACE Act has been used to silence peaceful Pro-Life protesters, to discriminate against speech based solely on its content. The America First Party is saddened, but not surprised, to see President Bush betray those who supported him, and betray the principles this country was founded upon. When will Pro-Life activists realize that voting for most Republicans just makes it possible for them to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory?"
Contacts:
Dan Charles, National Chairman, 1-866-SOS-USA1, ext. 4
Romelle Winters, Press Secretary, 1-866-SOS-USA1, ext. 2
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