Legislative Updates

I wanted to give you two updates on legislative matters being handled by the American Center for Law and Justice.  I just left a meeting a few minutes ago discussing both the move in Congress to see past a curb on an eminent domain ruling that was issued last year.  As you will recall, Justice OConnor prophetically warned that under the Supreme Courts decision in Kelo, governments could take a private house for an apartment complex development and a church for a retail shopping mall.  The decision in the Kelo case dramatically altered the way in which governments may utilize their powers of eminent domain.  Specifically, it used to be thought that government could only use this extraordinary power when a public use was involved, including roadways, hospitals and schools.  Under the Courts Kelo decision, the public use concept was changed and the new standard became public benefit.  This broad, open-ended provision puts individual businesses, churches, and homes in jeopardy.  Currently, Senator Cornyn has legislation that would significantly curtail the use of federal funds for these eminent domain projects.  At the American Center for Law and Justice, we are backing his proposal, as we think it is correct as a matter of policy and as a matter of law. 

On another front, starting on radio tomorrow, you will be hearing quite a bit of discussion on the issue of Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act (HR 235).  For far too long, groups like Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the ACLU have intimidated churches into silence during election season.  It used to be in this country during the Colonial Period that Election Day sermons were given encouraging voter participation and, for those who were going to vote, to vote a Biblical worldview.  This is no longer the case.  Instead, groups like Americans United and others have attempted to intimidate churches into silence on the critical moral issues of the day.  Congressman Walter Jones will be our guest on our radio program, Jay Sekulow Live!, this week.  He is the author of the Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act.  This Act is constitutionally correct and restores the proper First Amendment protection to churches, including pastors and other members of the clergy.  We feel that this initiative is vital.  Our Office of Government Affairs has worked on the language in this particular legislation, and we are confident that it will be deemed constitutional.  There is a growing groundswell of support for this legislation, and we think the time is right for it to pass.  For updates on this and other issues, please go to www.aclj.org.