AFRICAN AMERICAN CHRISTIAN LEADERS URGE ERIC HOLDER'S IMPEACHMENT
By
NWV News Writer Jim Kouri
Posted 1:00 AM Eastern
March 4, 2014
© 2014 NewsWithViews.com
A group of African American religious and civil-rights leaders on Tuesday called for the impeachment of Attorney General Eric Holder, himself an African American, for his alleged lawlessness, according to the Beltway news organization The Hill.
The Coalition of African American Pastors (CAAP) claim they are gathering signatures on a petition to impeach Holder for his same-sex marriage crusade when there are no federal laws regarding the legality of marriage being anything but between a man and a woman.
CAAP is joined by other faith-based organizations such as the Family Research Council and Illinois Family e-zine.
"From his imperial throne, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has proclaimed that heretofore state attorneys general need not enforce state laws that define marriage as a sexually complementary union. Holder said that "officials who have carefully studied bans on gay marriage could refuse to defend them," said political commentator Laurie Higgens of Illinois Family.
"Americans are looking for pastors to defend religious liberty," Tony Perkins, leader of the Family Research Council (FRC), said at a news conference on Tuesday.
"Religious liberty is our first freedom and it serves as the foundation for all other freedoms. Communities change when pastors speak up. If pastors will speak to the issues from a redemptive heart, we can see this country turn around," concluded Perkins.
The group's legal counsel has a list of actions taken and comments made by Holder to help institute same-sex marriage regardless of rulings by the US Supreme Court and a number of states that have won constitutional amendments against gay and lesbian marriages. [Link]
“The Attorney General of the United States should be impeached over his repeated lawlessness in attempting to impose same-sex marriage throughout the nation,” Rev. Bill Owens, the group's founder, said in an email.
“It’s one thing to make a political argument that gay marriage should be the law, but it’s quite another to take actions that ignore federal law, Supreme Court rulings, and the constitutions of dozens of states that have specifically rejected the redefinition of marriage which the administration is trying to impose,” said the Christian church leader. [Link]
And the African American Christian cleric is not only upset with the Attorney General; his disappointment and criticism extends to President Barack Obama, as well.
“As much as President [Barack] Obama and Attorney General Holder would like it to be otherwise, we live in a democracy -- with government of, by, and for the people -- not a monarchy ruled by a king issuing decrees from on high,” Rev. Owens added in his call for action. [Link]
Owens and CAAP point out that in a majority of U.S. states there are constitutional amendments that define marriage as being the joining of one man and one woman in matrimony. [Link]
As far as federal law, Section II of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) prohibits the federal government from interfering with states wishing to define marriage, according to the Family Research Counsel (FRC).
In fact, according to Owens, the U.S. Supreme Court justices ruled in 2013 (Windsor v. United States) that the government in Washington, D.C. -- including the Justice Department -- must adhere to the sovereignty of the individual states to stipulate the definition of marriage.
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"[The Attorney General] has directed the government to extend provisions providing same-sex couples immunity from testifying against a ‘spouse,’ treatment as ‘married’ persons in bankruptcy court, ‘spousal’ visitation rights and compassionate release in the case of federal prison inmates, and federal death benefits," said Rev. Owens in his email message. [Link]
“Marriage is an institution that benefits all of society; therefore every citizen has an interest in protecting marriage from these brazen attacks,” said Owens, the former pastor at Metropolitan Institutional Church in Memphis, Tenn.
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