We did NOT lose the battle!
TEN members of Congress reversed their earlier positions-UNBELIEVABLE progress which will be invaluable as we continue the fight for G-d, for the values of the Bible, and for America.
BS”D
I admit to feeling very depressed today when I heard the news that Bill HR8404 passed.
So many had worked so hard and prayed so hard, and now, it felt like the end. After all our efforts, it seemed that we would be stuck with a terrible situation, in which G-d’s Name is desecrated, traditional values are further eroded, kids are taught false, destructive values and put in harm’s way, religious people are in danger of legal prosecution for their normal, traditional, deeply-held beliefs, and society continues to be destroyed.
(If you haven’t seen my previous articles explaining why the so-called “Respect for Marriage Act” is anything but, please see here):
Back to my feeling blue. Thank G-d, an unbelievable powerhouse of an activist, YD, quickly enlightened me that everything was very, very different than what I was thinking.
We did not lose. We won!
How is that so?
First of all, the war is NOT over. There are going to be major legal challenges to the disastrous bill.
And that’s where OUR WORK - thank G-d! - made the difference. YOUR calls to the representatives who had voted yes in July educated TEN of them enough that they did NOT vote for HR8404 this time around! (Seven voted NO! One voted “present.” Two abstained.)
For anyone who can’t click the link above:
I think that this flip is unprecedented! There was no “logical” reason for it to happen, as the amendment to the bill (the reason it went back to the House for another vote), if anything, made the bill supposedly easier for a Republican to vote for (although it actually didn’t offer religious people any meaningful protection.)
Why is this flip important, and why do we call it a major VICTORY, if the bill did pass, after all, exposing us to all the terrible effects we warned it would bring?
The answer is that there are going to be lots of legal challenges to Bill HR8404, and it makes a WORLD of difference when, for example, it goes before the Supreme Court, how much bipartisan support the bill passed with.
These ten people who reversed course on HR8404 were a major, unimaginable victory, and G-d sent this miracle through all of your and our hard work in getting the word out to the public, contacting the lawmakers and explaining to them why the bill is so harmful.
No one could have imagined that just in the tiny bit of time that we had to work with, from when we found out about this threat at the very last moment, such a success was possible. Ten minds that changed - despite the tremendous pressure put on them from the dark forces - is a very big deal.
You see, there are good people, people who we can work with. When everyone in Washington is painted with a broad black brush, we do ourselves a disservice, as people then believe that there’s no point in even trying. The truth is, that some lawmakers are decent people, but bills are rammed through by evil forces, without the senators or representatives being given time to review and understand what they’re voting on and its ramifications. Things are also devilishly packaged to make lawmakers afraid to vote their conscience.
This piece from today’s Daily Signal article really highlights how it works:
One of the big accomplishments of this campaign, I believe, was the dissemination of a statement on marriage from the Rabbinical Union, a large group of Torah-true Rabbis working to protect and promote Biblical values.
This letter was the subject of press releases and went around the world. That voice - the voice reminding us of G-d’s will - was a voice that needed to be heard, and that itself is a great success.
The Rabbis stated:
“Simply put, HR 8404 is a profanation of the rule of the Almighty G-d, who created men and women. He is the One who initiated in His creation the essence of marriage and its clearcut definition. Marriage is solely the union of a man and a woman…. Accordingly, redefining the concept of marriage, and particularly entering it into the rule of law, as in HR 8404, is in truth the utmost disrespect to G-d, and frankly an assault against G-d and humanity.”
Can you imagine how much honor this letter restores to G-d as it goes around the world? Please help spread it.
Please try to call whomever you can of the representatives who voted no - and those who abstained - and thank them. Tell them what a huge difference their vote is going to make in the efforts to overturn the disastrous, destructive bill.
I don’t have the numbers of all the representatives who voted no - 169 Republicans! - but here are the ones who previously voted “yes”, and especially need to be thanked for changing their stance:
Changed from Yes to No:
Brian Mast (202) 225-3026
Dan Meuser (202) 225-6511
Cliff Bentz (202) 225-6730
Mario Diaz-Balart (202) 225-4211
María Elvira Salazar (202) 225-3931
Scott Perry (202) 225-5836
Jefferson Van Drew (202) 225-6572
Changed from Yes to present:
Burgess Owens (202) 225-3011
Changed from Yes to not voting:
Adam Kinzinger (202) 225-3635
Lee Zeldin (202) 225-3826
Here are parts of The Daily Signal article about this story:
The House of Representatives gave final approval to the Respect for Marriage Act Thursday. The bill, which passed 258-169, is now headed to President Joe Biden’s desk.
Every single Democrat voted for the legislation, as did 39 Republicans. Most Republicans (169) voted against the measure, while 1 voted “present” and four did not vote.
The Senate passed the bill, 61-36, last week.
The bill seeks to codify the Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-gender marriage nationwide. Biden is expected to sign it into law.
The House previously voted to pass the Respect for Marriage Act in July. All Democrats voted in favor (220), while 157 Republicans voted against. Forty-seven Republicans joined their Democrat colleagues in voting for the bill.
Rep. Perry appears to have walked back on his decision to vote for the bill. Perry said in a November interview with Family Research Council President Tony Perkins that he did not have much information on the bill before it went up for a vote in July. “This bill did not come through committee in the House—it came directly to the floor,” said Perry. “We were given a choice, as we understood it… to vote either against traditional marriage or against interracial marriage.”
Perry explained he had to vote on the bill almost immediately. “I calculated incorrectly … that my long-standing support of traditional marriage would be understood, and I didn’t want to vote against interracial marriage.”
Remarking on the upcoming Senate vote, Perry said: “Now they’re going to offer some kind of amendment… but this literally destroys religious freedom.”
Twelve Senate Republicans who previously supported the bill joined all 50 Senate Democrats in voting for its final passage last week. Among these Republican senators were Roy Blunt of Missouri, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine, and Mitt Romney of Utah.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduced a religious liberty amendment to the Senate version of the bill. “The [Respect for Marriage Act’s] leading proponents amended the bill by adding protections for religious service attendance and the solemnization of marriage,” Lee wrote in a November op-ed. “But those protections are inadequate to address many of the gravest risks posed by this bill, particularly those threatening the tax-exempt status of religious non-profits.”
Lee’s amendment, which garnered 48-49 votes, failed to meet the 60-vote requirement to pass the Senate.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, introduced his own amendment in the House Rules Committee last week. The House Rules Committee ruled his amendment—which would have offered protections for those who believe out of religious or moral conviction that marriage is a union between one man and one woman—out of order on Monday.
“The House Rules Committee blocked my common-sense amendment to the so-called Respect for Marriage Act. In doing so, Rules Committee Democrats silenced the American people’s voice in the House chamber and put our fundamental rights in the crosshairs,” Roy said in a statement provided to The Daily Signal.
Roy said that “not a single committee held a hearing, heard from witnesses, or deliberated the details of this legislation” before the vote, so members of Congress “will be forced to vote up or down on a bill that they were not allowed to amend or even seriously debate.”
“No free American should have to live in constant threat of having their life upended and ruined in court for holding millennia-old religious beliefs,” Roy added. “Further, every American deserves to know whether their representative wants the federal government to target people of faith.”
Source:
Please continue to pray to the Creator, reach out to lawmakers, and follow us as G-d willing, we hope to do all we can to fight back against the destruction of society, and to keep you informed about how you can help.
Bsd It seems to me that this legislation is null and void. If America was founded as One Nation Under G-d, there is no validity to legislation that totally changes G-d's laws, namely the Given that marriage is a union between male and female, and that G-d created man as male and female. These G-d given truth can never be overwritten, redefined by humans and doing so makes it null and void. ..even if the law passes by a majority or even unanimously. It is not a man given right to redefine G-d's Laws. Can the Senate or House vote that "One Nation Under G-d" no longer applies to the United States of America? Doing so uproots the foundation of this Nation.
Brucha, I saw another URL shorter (similar to what tinyURL does) named: https://is.gd/
Considering the name of your substack, maybe that might come in handy as well? :)