Sen. Sam Brownback's (R-KS) ammendments to protect viewers and especially children from indecency and excessive violence on TV have died in a senate subcommittee.  However, another senate committee is addresssing this important issue.  The Protecting Children from Indecent Programming Act (S.1780) unanimously passed the Senate Commerce Committee last week.  S. 1780 is critical to restoring the Broadcast Decency Bill passed in Congress in 2006 and gutted last month when two New York judges ruled that so-called "fleeting expletives" should be allowed on the public airwaves.

Because the court did not address the constitutionality of broadcast decency law, merely the FCC's interpretation of it, Congress must act yet again to protect children by clarifying that single instances of obscene language and images are punishable under existing broadcast decency law.
Take Action:
Contact Your Senator To Support Decency

Click here to see a list of which senators are on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.  If your senator is one of them, click on the senator's name for his or her contact information to express appreciation for passing the Protecting Children from Indecent Programming Act (S. 1780) out of committee.

Click here to contact your senators to urge him or her to VOTE YES on the Protecting Children from Indecent Programming Act (S. 1780).

The following senators are sponsors of this bill: 

Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI)

Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR)

Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV)

Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK)

Visit Liberty Letters friend Family Leader and lend a helping hand.

Support Liberty Letters by getting your copy of Dark Rose. Steve Farrell's "Dark Rose," proclaimed the Washington Dispatch, "is a simple story offering an incredible amount of depth…bursting with lessons in faith, forgiveness and family…it is a modern classic that will be enjoyed and passed along to friends and family for years to come." Read all the reviews and get your copy today.

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The Internet is a cesspool of child pornography, and in an attempt to stop the exploitation of children, our society's most innocent and vulnerable, in 2003 Congress passed the PROTECT Act, a provision of which was then overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.At issue is a provision of the act that makes it a separate offense to pander-to offer, advertise, promote, present or distribute child porn via computer messages-whether it exists or not. This is an important tool in drying up child porn, because bartering is the method of this industry-often beginning with the false offer.

Bias in Sex Ed Comprehensive sex education overwhelmingly pushes condoms and downplays abstinence says a new federal report issued in time for a vote in the House Appropriations Committee on abstinence education funding. The report was issued by the Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families (ACF)..The Washington Times reported, for instance, that the "Making Proud Choices" curricula developed for middle-school students ages 11 to 13, mentions "condom" or "condoms" 650 times and "abstinence 18 times." In another major American curriculum, "Making Proud Choices," the text makes 650 references to condoms and only 18 to abstinence. The report concludes that modern curricula seek to "lessen risks" rather than work at "avoiding sexual activity", and this may explain why they are "more effective at increasing condom use than at delaying sexual debut." The report also found "misleading statements" about condom-failure rates "in every curriculum reviewed."

The Las Vegas of Gay Marriage

The reason Massachusetts hasn't been able to become as Mitt Romney says, the "Las Vegas of gay marriage" is because of a 1913 law that bans non-resident couples from visiting the state to get married.  Now, charged up by their success, same-sex marriage advocates are focusing on repealing that law.  If that happens, Massachusetts chief export could be same-sex marriage couples who come to Massachusetts and marry, then go home to their resident states and sue for mandatory recognition.  Not only will this backlog the courts, but introduce legal chaos over the issue of marriage in all states.

The final tally in the Constitutional Convention on letting the people vote on the Marriage Amendment in Massachusetts revealed that eleven had jumped sides at the last minute (nine who had voted for the marriage amendment at the Constitutional Convention held on Jan, 2 and two freshmen legislators who ran and won their election on ‘letting the people vote.")

Why were they turncoats?  The Boston Globe may give a clue.  The day of the Constitutional Convention, Arline Isaacson, the chief lobbyist for the homosexual movement, was quoted in the news as saying, "It's very frustrating because legislators keep upping the ante on what they want to get for their votes."

Apparently, these these votes were for sale.

Liberty Letters Comment: Liberty Letters friend Maurine Proctor is the founder of FamilyLeader.net. Please visit FamilyLeader, and lend a helping hand.

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Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and friends may be surprised at what has become of Philadelphia. In a 16 to 1 vote last Thursday, the City Council decided to eject the Boy Scouts from a headquarters building they've been using since 1928 and on which they had a contract "in perpetuity."The issue? You know it. The Boy Scouts must affirm they will not discriminate against openly gay people or pay fair market rent on the city-owned land on which their building is located.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2000 that the Boy Scouts have the right to determine their own membership standards, but that hasn't stopped public schools and cities, sometimes following ACLU lawsuits, from cutting off their long-standing relationships with the Boy Scouts.

These decisions usually rest on two claims exemplified in the Scout oath itself:

"On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country, and to obey the Scout Law, to help other people at all times, to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight."

Therefore, governments claim 1) that when the Scouts partner with the local government their exclusion of atheists is a violation of the "separation of Church and state," which is not a phrase found anywhere in the Constitution. or 2) the exclusion of homosexuals.

It's a sad day when Scouts who pick up litter, do food drives, volunteer in homeless shelters and do Eagle Projects that make a difference in communities are discouraged and marginalized, and instead alternate lifestyles are promoted.

FCC, the F-word, and Ironies Our judicial champions of degrading the culture are at it again. A U.S. appeals court in New York struck down the FCC's rulings on the ban against the S- and F-words, which according to USA Today "instantly spawns a somewhat more relaxed climate for the big TV networks which have complained of a chilled atmosphere since the exposure of Janet Jackson's breast during the 2004 Super Bowl half-time show. The three-judge panel's ruling "will allow Hollywood to be able to say anything they want anytime they want," said Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin. "I find it hard to believe that the New York court would tell American families that (the S- and F-words) are fine to say on broadcast television during the hours when children are most likely to be in the audience." Fox gave this statement in response to the ruling: "Viewers should be allowed to determine for themselves and their families, through the many parental control technologies available, what is appropriate viewing for their home." So what we are to take from this, then, is that we can't expect our children to have a children-friendly atmosphere on television unless we now turn to extra technologies? Our friend Andrew Rail wrote, " Does anyone else find it ironic that Fox would issue this statement after 20th Century Fox recently joined seven other studios to file a lawsuit the eventually shut down movie rental companies that use these "parental control technologies" to edit movies to create versions that "viewers… and their families" have determined "is appropriate viewing for their home"? Martin said the agency will likely appeal the ruling, either to the full appeals court or the Supreme Court.

Jumping the Gun

The Montgomery County Board of Education has announced that it will be discussing the "Final Adoption of Revised Health Education Curriculum" at it's next meeting June 12th at 10:00 a.m. This curriculum called "Respect for Gender Differences" teaches that homosexuality, lesbianism, transgenderism etc. are normal, moral and natural, an equivalent to heterosexual sex.Family Leader has been deeply involved in this case, because it is typical of what school districts all across the nation will face, and precedence setting. We hope that by rallying parents in Maryland, we can help influence what will happen in your school.

What's maddening about this June date for adoption, is that the appeal that Family Leader, Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum and PFOX made to the state school board will not be decided upon by the state school board until July 7, 2007.

In a track race, that would be called jumping the gun, and perhaps disqualify you. Frankly, the school board is saying, "we can do whatever we want, and you can't stop us."

In response, Family Leader, with CRC and PFOX, has filed a brief asking for a stay on the local school board's premature actions.

If the stay fails, we will be staging a family friendly protest at the school board meeting Tuesday morning.

Used with the permission of Family Leader and Maurine Proctor.

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A suit has been filed against the Chicago Board of Education and others in behalf of Jessica Turner, a 12-year-old girl, whose school class was shown the explicit, gay-themed movie Brokeback Mountain. Jessica's grandparents, Kenneth and LaVerne Richardson are seeking more than $400,000 worth of damages.The Chicago Sun-Times reported that a substitute teacher introduced herself to the class at Ashburn Community Elementary School and said, "What happens in Ms. Buford's class stays in Ms. Buford's class." Buford then had a student close the door and began showing the controversial film.

According to screenit.com, this movie is extreme in its sexual content, with vivid, explicit sexual scenes between the two cowboys and at least 22 uses of the f-word.

According to the Sun Times, "the suit alleges Ashburn's principal, Jewel A. Diaz, was aware that the tale of the love between two cowboys set in the West of the 1960s was being shown to the minors.

"Turner later told her grandfather that she was confined to her seat and felt she could not leave the room, according to the suit filed in Cook County Circuit Court."

It should come as no surprise, of course, that liberal Hollywood, who never ceases its attack upon morality, lauded this movie with three Academy Awards.

Just an Isolated Incident? This extreme incident in Chicago is only the tip of the iceberg. Homosexual activists seek unfettered access to our children's minds, as they are aggressively pushing their agenda and promoting the indoctrination of homosexuality in curricula across the United States, starting as young as kindergarten. This is not just in the so-called "comprehensive sex-education classes" that are always gay-friendly, but in literature, art and history classes as well. The idea is to teach the acceptance-indeed the celebration-of homosexuality across the curriculum as they break down the traditional values of students. Unable to fully get their agenda embraced to this point in the United States and with a mountain of political will that far outstrips the family folks, they are looking to indoctrinate the young to bring a new wave of support and re-engineer the values of our American society. Homosexual activists are tampering with children's minds when they are vulnerable, and their own sense of sexual identity is often fragile. Their attack on the schools is incremental and steady, relentless like a dripping faucet. Here are just a few steps of the plan: ● They promote their agenda under the guise of creating "safe schools." Overstating the harassment that "gay" teens receive at school has been the irresistible front to promote their policies. ● They promote policies that forbid "discrimination" against students or teachers on the basis of "sexual orientation." They urge teachers and students to "come out" about their homosexuality so that "teachers can provide positive images of gay people in the classroom." ● They demand posters at school, books like King and the King, days celebrating their lifestyle, discussion of homosexuality across the curriculum, such as famous gay people in history. GLSEN writes, "Educators need to integrate LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) issues throughout the curriculum-not just in classes such as health education, but in disciplines such as English, History, Art and Science. ● In their lexicon "discrimination" includes giving any favorable treatment to marriage, the words "mother" and "father" or the heterosexual relationship in curriculum at school. To suggest that a child deserves a mother and father is considered "hate speech." ● They lobby for pro-homosexual propaganda to teachers and administrators through mandatory training sessions. ● They stigmatize anyone with traditional values as "homophobes" as an active part of classroom discussion, thus either marginalizing children for their biblical values, or pitting children against their parents' moral values. They imply that those with traditional values are mentally ill. ● They muzzle free speech. To voice opposition to this onslaught or to suggest another viewpoint in class is not only politically incorrect, it is forbidden, a sure sign that you are a dreaded homophobe. ● They sponsor student indoctrination sessions to teach their pro-homosexual dogma. These are often school assemblies or one-day events. Some of these include the description of sex acts in the crudest detail. ● They sponsor gay-straight alliance clubs at school as a forum to "discuss sexual orientation and gender identity issues." ● They ride the coattails of "multiculturalism" by including LGBT History Month among other "celebrations of culture and heritage."

Take Action:
How Can I Help?

As you read their plan, you are probably wondering, what can I do? How can I help?

You can help in two very important ways.

First, donate to the Family Leader Foundation by clicking here. To fight this battle effectively requires our hiring additional staff. We cannot fight this battle with volunteers only. Believe me, the Human Rights Campaign with its 91 affiliates in all 50 states and GLSEN have all the staff they need to swamp our efforts and push their agenda on our children's schools.

We cannot create materials, talking points and strategy-and certainly we cannot fight legal battles on these issues without a fulltime staff, dedicated to this cause. It is David against Goliath, and we need to add some stones in our sling.

Can you donate $50 or $30? Could you at least donate $10, which is about the price of a movie ticket to help us stop this charge against our children at school? If you can donate more, please do it.. Click here to donate.

Sometimes donating to the cause is the last thing we consider. Let it be the first. We don't know of any other national family organization who has taken on the cause of protecting our children against this onslaught at school. We are pledged to do it-with your help.

Second, volunteer to be a school board monitor in your area. We are creating a nationwide network of school board monitors. If you can do this, send your name and contact information to Martha Schaerr at mschaerr@yahoo.com We will get back in touch with you with training and instructions.

Liberty Letters Comment: Visit and then lend a hand to FamilyLeader.net.

Used with permission of Liberty Letters contributor, Maurine Proctor and FamilyLeader.net 

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Last Thursday, the hate crimes bill, which we have been warning you about, passed the House with a vote of 237 to 180.  That's the bad news.  The good news is that, thanks to the work of many family-centered groups like ours, the President's staff has recommended that he veto the bill.Calling the hate crimes bill (H.R. 1592) "unnecessary and constitutionally questionable", President Bush's staff said, "State and local criminal laws already provide criminal penalties for the violence addressed by the New Federal crimes…"  They agreed that state and local law enforcement agencies and courts had demonstrated the capacity to enforce these crimes and they do not need the federal government stepping in.

Why would gender identity and sexual orientation become a special class, while other classes (such as the elderly, members of the military, police officers, and victims of prior crimes) be left without similar special status, they wondered.
So, for this round freedom of speech and freedom of religion appear to be spared, though this bill will still be debated in the Senate.  

More Good News President Bush has also pulled through on life issues.  He has sent a letter to Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, reaffirming his commitment to protect the sanctity of human life, saying, "Our nation was founded on the belief that every human being has rights, dignity, and matchless value. Every child should be welcomed into life and protected by law." He also makes a firm pledge to "veto any legislation that weakens current Federal policies and laws on abortion, or that encourages the destruction of human life at any stage." A group of pro-life Members of the House recently submitted a letter to President Bush pledging to sustain such a veto. That letter was signed by 155 Members of Congress (146 votes are necessary to sustain a veto).Cutting the Congress off at the pass on life issues is really important right now because several pieces of hostile legislation are being considered including the Freedom of Choice Act, which could better be called the "Abortion on Demand Act".  This bill would overturn most state and federal pro-life legislation including the federal ban on Partial Birth Abortion.

Take Action:
Thank President Bush

Thank the President for his strong commitment to uphold and protect the important pro-life provisions that have been put in place for the last 30 years.  Thank him for his stand against the hate crimes legislation.  It really makes a difference who is in the Oval Office when it comes to family issues.  When a lawmaker knows he has support, it makes all the difference.

Click here to send your email.

Liberty Letters Comment:  Please visit Liberty Letters contributor, Maurine Proctor's website, FamilyLeader.net, and find out how you can join forces with Maurine in defending our most cherished values.

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Never in the history of the world has the institution of man/woman marriage been under such aggressive assault.  An astounding 28 lawsuits challenging marriage laws have been filed in state or federal courts. Sadly some states have not been able to escape these legal assaults.   Activist judges have thrust recognition of same-sex unions on its citizens in Massachusetts and New Jersey.  Because of the decision of the Massachusetts high court in 2003, Massachusetts began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in May of 2004.  On October 25, 2006 the New Jersey Supreme Court issued a ruling ordering the New Jersey Legislature to legalize same-sex marriage or create a new law recognizing civil unions within 180 days. In February 2006 New Jersey became the third state to issue  licenses for civil unions following in the footsteps of Vermont and Connecticut.  In response to the attacks on marriage laws, legislators and citizens in 27 states have passed constitutional marriage amendments. Alabama 81%                   Alaska 68%

Arkansas 75%                 Colorado 56%

Georgia 77%                     Hawaii 68%   

Idaho 63%                        Kansas 70%

Kentucky 75%                 Louisiana 78%

Michigan 59%                   Mississippi 86%

Missouri 70%                    Montana 66%

Nebraska 70%                  Nevada 67%

North Dakota 73%          Ohio 62%

Oklahoma 76%                Oregon 57%

South Carolina 80%        South Dakota 52%  

Tennessee 80%               Texas 76%   

Utah 66%                          Virginia 57%

Wisconsin 59%

Constitutional marriage amendments are the only way to protect marriage laws from being redefined by the courts.  In this email we'll tell you how you can help pass marriage amendments in critical states and how to help lobby for a federal marriage amendment.

The Big Picture The ultimate goal for defenders of marriage is to have Congress pass a federal marriage amendment.  The last vote on the federal Marriage Protection Amendment (MPA) in the summer of 2006 fell short of the necessary two-thirds votes in both the U.S. House and Senate.  Unfortunately a MPA is not even close to being on the table for the current Congress.  However, even if at some future time Congress passes the MPA, 38 states would still need to ratify it.  Recently Alliance for Marriage, the author of the federal MPA, has formed a bipartisan Marriage Protection Caucus among state legislators.  Family Leader wholeheartedly supports this effort.  The Marriage Protection Caucus seeks to pass a "Marriage Protection Resolution."  This resolution, passed by state legislatures, calls upon the state's congressional delegation to send the federal Marriage Protection Amendment to state legislators for ratification.

States Considering Marriage Amendments or Statutes Below is a list of states who are seeking to strengthen marriage.  If you have friends or family in any of the states below, please forward this important email on to them.  We URGENTLY need your help to protect marriage before it's too late! Florida:  Florida 4 Marriage is currently 28,000 signatures short of the required 611,009 signatures needed to place Florida's Marriage Protection Amendment on the November 2008 ballot. Here's what the amendment says: "Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized."

Minnesota

Minnesota: A constitutional marriage amendment passed in the Minnesota House but has been stuck in the senate.  Here's what the marriage amendment says: "Only the union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Minnesota. Any other relationship shall not be recognized as a marriage or its legal equivalent."  Here's what will be on the ballot:  Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to provide that marriage or its legal equivalent is limited to only the union of one man and one woman?

Take Action:  Please urge your state senator to support a marriage amendment SF 2159 as stated above and SF 2160 which says, "A bill for an act relating to the Minnesota Constitution by adding a section to article XIII; recognizing as marriage only a union between one man and one woman."  To contact your state senator click here and enter your zip code as directed.

Pennsylvania: On June 7, 2006 the Pennsylvania House passed marriage amendment bill, HB 2381, by a vote of 136 to 61.  The bill says, "Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this Commonwealth, and neither the commonwealth nor any of its political subdivisions shall create or recognize a legal status identical or substantially equivalent to that of marriage for unmarried individuals."  Click here for the bill.

On June 13, 2006 the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 9 to 5 to pass an amended version of House Bill 2381 to read "Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this Commonwealth."  On June 21, 2006 some senators tried to restore the house version of the marriage amendment bill but that was defeated 38 to 12.  Click here for the bill's history.  The full senate still needs to pass a marriage amendment bill and the house and senate need to agree on the language.  The earliest the amendment could be on the ballot is 2009.

click here and enter your zip code as directed.

Rhode Island: A bill defining marriage between one man and one woman and prohibiting same-sex marriage has been introduced in the house and senate.  House Bill 6159, was introduced on March 14, 2007. Click here to read the text. Senate Bill 0687 was introduced February 15, 2007.  Click here to read the text. 

Take Action:  Tell your state legislators that you strongly support the marriage bills, H 6159 and S 0687.  To contact your lawmakers click here and enter your zip code as directed. 

Liberty Letters Comment: Thank you Maurine Proctor for your excellent work! Please visit her website at FamilyLeader.net, and lend a helping hand.

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The destruction of embryos for stem cell research is already legal in America, but Wednesday the Senate voted 63-34 to pass a bill that would mandate taxpayers' money to fund this kind of research. Called the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (S 5), the bill was passed in the last Congress and received President Bush's sole veto of his presidency.Undoubtedly, President Bush will again veto the bill, and the 34 negative votes in the Senate was enough to uphold his veto.  

The bigger question, however, is how to sort through the competing claims for stem cell research, when both sides are passionate about the morality of their advocacy.

Advocates like Sean Tipton, the president of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR) say, "There are 100 million Americans suffering from debilitating diseases and disorders for which embryonic stem cell research provides great hope. In their press release they indicate that thousands of scientists and doctors, including many Nobel laureates, as well as the Director of the National Institutes of Health, recognize that current federal restrictions on stem cell research seriously endanger scientific and medical advancement in the United States.

If this bill does not pass, they say, the lives and well being of millions of Americans and their families are put at risk, and we also risk losing America's leadership position in the fields of science and medicine.

Cells taken from human embryos have the potential to regenerate damaged organs and might one day offer a cure for such debilitating diseases as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

They have won the sympathy and support of the majority of Americans because their spokespeople are often those who are suffering from debilitating and life-long diseases like MS or diabetes, who plead for the medical advances that appear to be promised in stem cell research. People like Michael J. Fox, the thriving young actor who became stricken with Parkinson's Disease, has become a poster boy for their cause.

Wait A Minute Not so fast with the glowing reports, say the bill's opponents. We are not against stem cell research, the cure of disease or the advancement of medicine, they say, but there has to be a bright line drawn against killing human embryos for research. Human life in all its stages has to be protected and cherished or we have crossed an ethical boundary that leads to a slippery slope to government-sanctioned human cloning and egg farming. The bill, they say, is a steppingstone for major biotech companies who are behind this legislation. These companies are spending millions of dollars in Washington and throughout the country to have government tax dollars pay for widespread human cloning-the cloning of human embryos that requires millions of eggs that can only be amassed through egg farming, which puts women's health in harm's way. Opponents to the bill say that it is a bait-and-switch. It purports to fund research only on so-called "leftover" or "discarded" in vitro fertilized embryos, however there are not enough "leftover" frozen embryos to meet scientist's already stated demands for huge number of embryos for experiments. One study notes that of 400,000 frozen embryos in the U.S., only 2.8% are available for research, or an estimated maximum of 275 new lines. Estimates by scientists of the number of lines and embryos desired for experiments ranges from thousands to millions, therefore, it will create an incentive for the specific creation of embryos for experiments by soliciting egg and sperm donors and by human cloning. Creating embryos solely for experiments (create and clone) will require massive donations of women's eggs, exploiting raw material for experiments and potentially putting women's health in harm's way.

Cures from Adult Stem Cells

The most practical concern of opponents to federal funding of stem cell research that kills embryos is that it is ineffective, diverting valuable dollars to something that has not yielded results. Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) points out that with $613 million dollars invested in embryonic stem cell research over a long period time, not