Unpopular Arab Thoughts That All Arabs Have Thought

I have given in and signed up for a Facebook Account. If you would like to add me, I am at salib2000 at hotmail dot com. I have not set it up yet–and my practice keeps me too busy to mess with it more than once a week–but at least I am finally online!

See you there,
+Salib+

FRONT ROYAL, Va., May 17 /Christian Newswire/ — The Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, STL, president of Human Life International, (HLI) today said “Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3) and seventeen other members of Congress who describe themselves as Catholic not only are ignorant of their faith but also need a civics lesson.”

Father Euteneuer was responding to their rebuke of Pope Benedict XVI in a press release from DeLauro’s office which stated that the Pope’s recent comments that Catholic politicians risk excommunication and should not receive Communion by saying, “Such notions offend the very nature of the American experiment and do a great disservice to the centuries of good work the church has done.”

Father Euteneuer said, “It is an embarrassment that a Catholic, much less a member of Congress should make such an absurd statement. Even if this statement were true, the Holy Father answers to a Higher Power than Rep. DeLauro and the Gang of 18.”

“The truth is,” Father Euteneuer said, “nothing threatens the American experiment more than the legal but unjust killing of human beings by abortion which stands in stark contrast to the very first right enumerated by our Declaration of Independence: The Right to Life. The humanity of the unborn child is no longer even debated. It is a scientific fact. Abortion is murder, and murder is against the law. Like Dred Scott before it, which violated certain citizens’ Right to Liberty, Roe v. Wade is bad, dishonest law and will eventually fall.”

“Excommunication is a pastoral and medicinal penalty, not a political one. The Pope is well within his free expression of religion guaranteed by the US Constitution-and his pastoral duty-to warn any Catholic when their eternal salvation is jeopardized by their actions” Father Euteneuer said. “This is what the Catholic Church teaches and what Catholics believe. If the Gang of 18 believes otherwise, honesty and integrity requires they find another church that tells them what they want to hear. If they have that much of a problem being Catholic, no one is forcing them to stay. We certainly don’t need their hypocrisy.”

Founded in 1981, Human Life International is the world’s largest pro-life, pro-family organization that is dedicated to defending life, faith and the family, with branches and affiliates around the world.

WASHINGTON, May 9 /Christian Newswire/ — A new apostasy draft bill has been sent before a standing committee in Pakistan’s National Assembly. If passed, the Apostasy Act 2006, adopted in first reading by the parliament and tabled by the six-party Islamic alliance, the Muttahida Majlis-i- Amal or MMA, would sentence to death all Muslim men found guilty of leaving Islam. Muslim women would face life in prison for the same crime.

The draft bill goes into great detail over qualifications for conviction of “offenders”.

Section 4 of the bill states that testimony by two adults accusing someone of leaving the Muslim faith, or a confession by the accused, is all that is needed for conviction. However, in some courts throughout Pakistan testimony by non-Muslims is prohibited.

In Section 5 the apostate is granted 3 to 30 days to renounce his or her conversion and return to Islam. The section also stipulates that the initial rejection of Islam can still be punishable by up to two years incarceration, despite recantation. The death penalty becomes mandatory if a person converts from and returns to Islam more than three times.

In addition to life in prison or death, offenders yield all properties in their name to Muslim relatives and forfeit custody of any minor or biological child under their care.

Denounced by many in the minority religious community in Pakistan, including the Archbishop of Lahore, the draft bill would commit Pakistan as one of the world’s worst violators of fundamental rights.

Institute on Religion and Public Policy President, Joseph K. Grieboski, reacted to the bill, stating, “This legislation is a clear demonstration that fundamental freedoms are of no importance to the National Assembly of Pakistan. Passage of this bill would usher in a new age of religious bigotry in a country that prides itself on being a strong and committed ally in combating global terrorism. Laws such as this would only serve to engender further extremist behavior. Being an alley of the United States is not only a matter of reflecting national interests, but a mutual respect for fundamental values.”

Son Jong Nam Awaits Public Execution; Global Campaign Mounted to Save Life
MEDIA ADVISORY, July 17 /Christian Newswire/ — International inspectors have reported that North Korea has shut down a key nuclear reactor, but religious and human rights organizations and leading elected officials are now urging the world to insist that the North Koreans show progress in the area of religious liberty.

Son Jong Nam, April 2004, Yeongil, China
The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM), an international organization that assists persecuted Christians around the world, has launched a worldwide campaign to free Son Jong Nam, who is awaiting public execution in North Korea simply because of his Christian faith.

A former North Korean Army officer who escaped to China, but returned to his native country as an underground evangelist, Son has been beaten, tortured and held in a bleak, death row basement jail in the capital city, Pyongyang. While his case is remarkable, Son is just one of thousands jailed and facing death in North Korea and around the world.

VOM was been joined in the initiative by U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), a noted supporter of human rights for North Korean refugees, and other congressional leaders.

Mr. Son’s brother and Sen. Brownback appeared at a news conference in Washington, D.C., last week to plead the case.

VOM is calling on people in the United States and around the world to go to www.prisoneralert.com to write letters and send emails on Son Jong Nam’s behalf to North Korean officials, the United Nations, the U.S. Department of State and their elected officials.

“We are asking for prayers for Mr. Son, but also that people take action on his behalf,” said Todd Nettleton, director of media development for VOM. “Each and every letter and email can make a difference.

“All religions have been harshly repressed in North Korea,” said Nettleton. “Thousands of Christians have been murdered since the Korean War. Those who practice their faith must do so in deep secrecy and are in constant danger.”

NOTE FROM SALIB: This is merely a news release, I’ll thank my detractors to not assume this (or the rick warren article) have anything to do with MY analyses. When I do speak, you will know it. Thanks.
–The Management here at ahmedsalib.com

“Opposition to any nominee based exclusively on church activities and traditional Christian beliefs sets a dangerous new precedent.”–Mark Tooley, IRD’s Director of UMAction
WASHINGTON, July 11 /Christian Newswire/ — Homosexual groups have denounced the nomination of Dr. James Holsinger as U.S. Surgeon General because of his leadership in the United Methodist Church, which disapproves of homosexual practice. Holsinger will testify tomorrow before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, chaired by Senator Ted Kennedy. Reacting to the critique by homosexual groups, several senators, including fellow United Methodist Hillary Clinton, have already said they will oppose Holsinger. The United Methodist Church has 7.9 million members in the U.S. and several million more outside the U.S. Members include President Bush and Vice President Cheney. Dr. Holsinger has served on the church’s top court since 2000.

Mark Tooley, IRD’s Director of UMAction commented:

“These critics of Dr. Holsinger would seem to establish a new litmus test for public office–a test that would exclude any nominee who is an orthodox Christian with traditional beliefs about sexual ethics. This would appear to violate the spirit, if not the letter, of the provision in Article VI of the U.S. Constitution stipulating that “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.

“Dr. Holsinger serves on United Methodism’s Judicial Council, which has upheld the denomination’s policies regarding homosexuality. Like nearly all Christian churches, the United Methodist Church affirms sexual relations only within the marriage of one man and one woman.

“Dr. Holsinger’s nomination should be evaluated based on his qualifications in the fields of medicine and public health. The IRD, which has no expertise in those fields, takes no position on the nomination. But we do wish to issue a strong warning: Opposition to any nominee based exclusively on his church activities and traditional Christian beliefs sets a dangerous new precedent.”

MIDLAND, Texas, July 10 /Christian Newswire/ — China Aid Association confirms that a central government-directed campaign to expel suspected foreign missionaries has been ongoing since February 2007.

Typhoon No. 5 Campaign

According to reliable China Aid sources and collaborated reports by at least five different mission agencies, over 100 foreigners accused of being involved in illegal religious activities in China have been expelled or deported this year between April and June. Sources inside the Chinese government informed CAA that the Chinese government launched a massive expulsion campaign of foreign Christians, encoded Typhoon No. 5, in February 2007. This campaign is believed to be part of the “anti-infiltration” efforts to prevent foreign Christians from engaging in mission activities before the Beijing Olympics next year.

Citizens from six countries working in Xinjiang, Beijing and Tibet targeted

Most of those expelled are citizens from the United States, South Korea, Singapore, Canada, Australia, and Israel. They were expelled when they were either working or visiting in Xinjiang, Beijing, Tibet, or Shandong.

According to an American who had been working in Xinjiang for 10 years and wants to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the topic, over 60 foreign religious workers were expelled from Xinjiang alone. Some of the workers had been serving the local people for 15-18 years before they were asked to leave in the past few months. At least 15 Christian couples from the United States and other countries were expelled from Beijing in the month of May. Two American English teachers sent by the English Language Institute/China (ELIC) were expelled from Tibet. ELIC (www.elic.org), a California based Christian organization, is the largest English teacher- sending organization to China and has trained thousands of Chinese college and high school students since the 1990s.

On May 31, 2007, one Israeli Jewish Christian and an American were arrested and expelled from Linyi City, Shandong province when they worshiped together with 70 House Church leaders. Only July 1, three American Christians from Indiana were detained in Beijing and then forced to leave China after their US passports were taken away for 3 to 5 days by Chinese security agents.

Consulate Protection Rights Violated

According to CAA’s private interviews with some of the expelled Americans, the Chinese PSB confiscated their passports for 2-7 days and treated them professionally while they were interrogated. They were not allowed to have access to US Embassy in Beijing, a direct violation of US-China consulate protection agreements. Some will not be allowed to return to China for 5 years.

This is the largest expulsion of foreign missionaries since 1954 when the Chinese Communist government expelled all foreign religious workers after taking power in 1949. The Chinese government refuses to recognize foreign missionary status in China so many missionaries choose to work in the education or business sectors as ways to stay in China.

“Given the significant contribution to the Chinese people made by those expelled foreigners, this campaign is certainly misguided and counter- productive,” said Bob Fu, President of CAA. “We call upon the Chinese government to correct this wrong by allowing these selfless good-hearted people of faith back into China.”

WASHINGTON, July 16 /Christian Newswire/ — According to our own National Intelligence, Al Qaeda and Radical Islam are trying harder than ever to sneak operatives into the U.S. and they already have everything they need to stage an attack within our borders. Therefore we must secure our borders and put America first instead of pouring billions of dollars of aid into countries that despise us.

Don Swarthout, President of Christians Reviving America’s Values said, “A well planned Al Qaeda and Radical Islamic attack could result in the complete destruction of our nation. They could completely destroy our economy, our everyday way of life and our very existence as a nation. They want to end our American way of life as we know it today.”

Swarthout continued, “It is time for all of America to wake up to the very real threat posed by Al Qaeda and Radical Islam. These people are our enemies and we know where they live. Now we must go after them and defeat them.”

Colonel David Hunt said on Fox News, “The fact that we are not going into Pakistan to go after Al Qaeda is very disturbing.” Colonel Hunt also said that the upcoming election and the fragileness of President Musharraf’s government are the two main reasons we are not willing to go into Pakistan to take out the heart of the Al Qaeda operations. These are not good enough reasons for us not to fight against Al Qaeda and Radical Islam.

President Musharraf has reportedly told the leaders of Al Qaeda, “We are not going to do anything,” referring to their Pakistani safe haven. How can America be friends with a country who wants to play both ends against the middle?

A World Net Daily reporter recently watched in horror as the largest mosque in London allowed an evil, hateful message of Radical Islam. While a large group of at least 2,000 faithful radicals shouted their approval of the message.

Compromising with those who oppose our American ways is never going to work because we are too far apart in our beliefs and our enemies frequently simply lie to us. Compromising only postpones the inevitable and we have postponed the inevitable for as long as we can.

“The time has come for the United States of America to take action,” Swarthout said.

Swarthout said, “Al Qaeda and Radical Islam are clearly our enemies and apathy has become our greatest enemy. Unless we do something immediately about the threats posed by Al Qaeda and Radical Islam, America as we know it will be destroyed and we will go down.”

Swarthout continued, “America’s politicians are not listening to us because they are too busy playing partisan politics and voting the way their party tells them to vote. We must all contact them like we did when the immigration bill was being debated and tell them that we expect them to protect us and our way of life.”

“We need to tell them in no uncertain terms, we will remember their choices when election time rolls around,” Swarthout said.

“We must tell them that we expect them to attack Al Qaeda and Radical Islam. We also need to tell them to stop fighting these terrorists with one hand tied behind our backs. We should be using some of the terrorists own tactics and take them out before they take us out,” Swarthout concluded.

Scuzzies are those internet trolls who don’t have the cajones to sign their name, but make all sorts of threats, or leave objectionable, explicit comments. I’m sad to say that we here at ahmedsalib.com have come across yet more of these things. I have attempted to get rid of the ones that stuck out to me, please accept my apologies, dear and decent readers. Many prayers for your safety, serenity and salvation. Salaam.
–Salib

I would have loved to come across the first sentence here while I was just a boy. (Uncle Sam teaching teenage guys about their fave subject, at the taxpayers expense. Gotta love that.) California: Where the “new reasons to love our state” list grows by the week.
–Salib

SB 777 turns “every government school into a sexual indoctrination center”SACRAMENTO, May 24 /Christian Newswire/ — Radical legislation mandating that schoolchildren as young as kindergarten learn about and support transsexuality, bisexuality and homosexuality has passed the California State Senate.

SB 777 requires textbooks, instructional materials, and school-sponsored activities to positively portray cross-dressing, sex-change operations, homosexual “marriages,” and all aspects of homosexuality and bisexuality, including so- called “gay history.” Silence on these sexual lifestyles will not be allowed.

Today’s vote was on a party line — Democrats for, Republicans against. Sadly, no Republican senator rose to speak against SB 777. After this non-debate, the school sexual indoctrination bill passed the Democrat-controlled Senate by three votes, 23 to 13. Republican Tom Harman abstained and Republican Jim Battin was absent; Democrat Dean Florez abstained, while Democrat Alan Lowenthal was absent.

“Parents are angry at the Democrats for passing this school sexual indoctrination bill and frustrated that Republicans did little to fight it,” said Randy Thomasson, president of Campaign for Children and Families (CCF), a leading California-based pro-family organization. “We call on Arnold Schwarzenegger to pledge that he will respect parents, protect children, and veto this bad bill, just like he did last year.”

“The notion of forcing children to support controversial sexual lifestyles is shocking and appalling to millions of fathers and mothers,” Thomasson said. “Parents don’t want their children taught to become homosexual or bisexual or to wonder whether they need a sex-change operation. SB 777 will shatter the academic purpose of education by turning every government school into a sexual indoctrination center.”

Authored by lesbian Senator Sheila Kuehl, SB 777 adds an unnatural definition of “gender” to the Education Code: “Gender” means sex, and includes a person’s gender identity and gender related appearance and behavior whether or not stereotypically associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth.

SB 777 also deletes the true definition of “sex” from the Education Code, which currently reads: “Sex” means the biological condition or quality of being a male or female human being. And because of the bill’s wide-open definition of “sexual orientation,” homosexual “marriages” and all aspects of homosexuality and bisexuality would be positively portrayed to children as young as kindergarten. SB 777 will teach these highly-controversial sexual subjects without parental permission. The new mandate would be enforced by the attorneys of the California Department of Education, which would sue school districts that don’t comply.

Reporters: Visit www.savecalifornia.com for CCF’s detailed analysis of SB 777
TV Producers: Visit www.savecalifornia.com for streaming video of classroom indoctrination

CAMPAIGN FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES (CCF) is a leading nonprofit, nonpartisan organization representing children and families in California and America. CCF stands for marriage and family, parental rights, the sanctity of human life, religious freedom, financial freedom, and back-to-basics education.

UTTAR PRADESH, India, June 1 /Christian Newswire/ — Anti-Christian extremists in Uttar Pradesh, India, have threatened to kill Gospel for Asia missionary Daya Marandi if he does not leave the area where he is currently ministering. The extremists have also made unspecified threats to harm about 60 people who worship at a GFA-affiliated church where Daya serves as pastor. The extremists are demanding that believers in the church denounce Christianity and return to their former religions.

GFA President Dr. K.P. Yohannan asks Christians around the world to pray earnestly for Daya and for the area in which he ministers.

“Please pray for this entire state of Uttar Pradesh. It has a population of about 150 million people and it is one of the most unreached states in all of India,” Dr. Yohannan explained.

This incident leading to the death threat began when extremists learned that Daya was purchasing land on which to construct a church. The extremists tried to get the landowner to back out of the sale. They even tried to buy the land themselves so that Daya could not purchase it.

When their attempts to halt the land purchase failed, the extremists became angry and the situation escalated. They approached the pastor and demanded that everyone in his congregation turn away from Christianity and return to their former religions. At this same time, a local newspaper published an unflattering article about Daya.

Seeing that the pastor and the members of his church refused to budge, the extremists escalated their threats and told Daya they would kill him if he continued to minister in Uttar Pradesh.

Anti-Christian extremists also recently assaulted two other GFA missionaries working in Uttar Pradesh. The missionaries were able to escape from the extremists unharmed. Dr. Yohannan asks you to pray for these two men and that many people who heard the Gospel message that day will come to know Christ in spite of the opposition.

Gospel for Asia is a mission organization involved in evangelism and church planting in Asia’s unreached regions. Currently Gospel for Asia supports more than 16,500 church planters in 10 countries. These missionaries have established about 30,000 churches among unreached villages and people groups. Gospel for Asia is also committed to training native missionaries. The organization’s 54 Bible colleges are preparing thousands of students to become full-time church planters.

AB 755 would have biased authorities against good parents
SACRAMENTO, June 1 /Christian Newswire/ — California’s spanking bill, which lumped good parents who use traditional methods of child discipline together with bad parents who are hateful, harmful child abusers, has died in committee. AB 755, by Democrat Assemblywoman Sally Lieber of San Jose, was “shelved” Thursday, May 31 in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

“This is a relief for the tens of thousands of parents and grandparents who called and emailed Sacramento to protest this home-invasion bill,” said Randy Thomasson, president of Campaign for Children and Families, a leading pro-family organization in California that fought against AB 755. “Thank God for small favors in the liberal California Legislature. Apparently, the Democrat leaders decided it was becoming politically harmful for them to be viewed as the party that sent good parents to jail.”

How AB 755 targeted parents who spank with a switch, a paddle, a stick, or a slipper:

Specific inclusion of examples of legitimate spanking methods mixed with clear examples of child abuse would have biased authorities against loving parents. Because AB 755 made specific changes to the Penal Code, all mandatory reporters, including teachers, police officers, social workers, counselors and clergy would have been trained to regard parents who spank with an implement as potential child abusers.

The inclusion of a “nonviolent parental education class” further demonstrated that AB 755 targeted loving parents who occasionally spank with a switch, a paddle, a stick, or other traditional child-rearing methods. Existing law already allows judges to order convicted child abusers into “a child abuser’s treatment counseling program.” There was no reason for a “nonviolent parental education class” if AB 755 didn’t expand the definition of child abuse to include certain types of spanking. The “nonviolent parental education class” provision was obviously created for nonviolent parents who use an implement to spank, but cannot legally be ordered into existing counseling for child abusers, which is indeed violent.

By focusing juries on a switch, a stick, a belt, or a slipper, AB 755 attempted to create bias against good parents who occasionally use these traditional spanking implements. This instruction was completely unnecessary to convict bad parents who physically injure their children. Juries already have broad authority to convict parents who cause a child great bodily harm, suffering, or unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering by any means.

Video release prior to visit of Vietnamese President shows Christian persecution is real
BARTLESVILLE, Okla., June 20 /Christian Newswire/ — As Vietnam’s president, Nguyen Minh Triet, comes to the United States this week, his focus will be on advancing trade and technology between his country and the U.S. Nguyen will try to avoid discussing human rights and religious freedom in his country.

But eight teens–six Americans and two Australians– discovered that persecution in Vietnam is real for Christians. The teens interviewed a pastor whose house church has been repeatedly torn down by the police. They were forced to flee from a Christian youth camp when police suddenly arrived.

Their adventure–Underground Reality: Vietnam–was captured on film last year and is now available on DVD from The Voice of the Martyrs, a ministry dedicated to helping persecuted Christians in nations like Vietnam.
“The president of Vietnam calls evangelical Christians law-breakers and says they should be punished,” says Todd Nettleton, spokesperson for VOM. “But the reality is these are simply Christians who want the freedom to worship God according to their conscience. They love their country; they pray for their government leaders. These aren’t trouble-makers or rebels, yet they are arrested, beaten and imprisoned. We’ve received a list of more than 100 Christians currently held in Vietnamese prisons.”

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) listed Vietnam in its May, 2007, report as a “Country of Particular Concern” in regards to religious freedom.

Underground Reality: Vietnam, which was released on DVD this month, documents first hand the reality of persecution in Vietnam as it was encountered by the teens. One teen interviewed a young girl who had been abused by Vietnamese police. The group met with the children of a Vietnamese pastor who has spent years under house arrest because of his Christian activities. A face-to-face interview with a formerly-imprisoned pastor was a highlight for some of the teens.

“We talk a lot today about reality TV,” says Nettleton. “Well, this is the ultimate reality; the reality of life and death for Christians in Vietnam. The reality of how much they are willing to pay in order to live out their convictions and serve God in the way they feel called to serve Him. What could be more real?”

“We are pleased that Vietnam’s president will be visiting the United States,” says Nettleton. “We call on leaders within the U.S. government to ask President Nguyen hard questions about religious freedom and the way our Christian brothers and sisters are being treated in Vietnam. Good trade relations, and high profits, aren’t enough to ignore the mistreatment of people of faith in Vietnam

NOTE BY SALIB:
If she can reconcile the required Episcopalean belief that Jesus is the Son of God and Savior with the required Moslem belief that “allah” is only one person and Jesus is “just a prophet” (albeit the best one, never mind the fact that the Bible says nothing about alleged prophet mohammed) then I’m all for it.

WASHINGTON, June 20 /Christian Newswire/ — An Episcopal priest in Washington state recently announced that she is both a Christian and a Muslim. The Rev. Ann Holmes Redding of Seattle made her profession of faith in Islam in March 2006. Episcopal Church Center employees told the Seattle Times that a person of dual faiths can serve as Episcopal clergy at the diocesan bishop’s discretion. The Rt. Rev. Vincent Warner, bishop of the Diocese of Olympia, reportedly accepts Redding’s dual faiths; consequently, she remains a priest in good standing within the diocese.

Ralph Webb, Director of the IRD’s Anglican Action program, commented:

“The Episcopal Church continues to find new, creative ways to allow for heterodox faith variations at the local level. First, there was a ‘local option’ for same-sex blessings in the Episcopal Church. Now there’s apparently an unofficial ‘local option’ for clergy who profess dual faiths.

“Rev. Redding certainly is free to pursue a spiritual path of her own choosing. But when she was ordained as an Episcopal priest, she accepted a charge to ‘boldly proclaim the gospel of salvation; and rightly administer the sacraments of the New Covenant.’ How can she ‘boldly proclaim the gospel’ of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross for the sins of the world and subsequent resurrection when Islam denies both events? How can she ‘rightly administer the sacraments of [a] … covenant’ antithetical to Muslim beliefs, which see Jesus only as a prophet, not the savior of the world? Rev. Redding, Bishop Warner, and the Episcopal Church need to take such questions seriously.

“Even the Episcopal Church’s baptismal service asks all Christians to ‘[c]onfess the faith of Christ crucified, proclaim his resurrection, and share with us in his eternal priesthood.’ The idea that a person can become a Muslim while remaining an Episcopal priest in good standing trivializes both faiths.

“The blurring of Christian distinctives is evidence of a spiritual confusion that can only harm Episcopalians. And while it’s been said that ‘all politics are local,’ Bishop Warner’s acceptance of Rev. Redding’s syncretism compromises the whole church. The Episcopal Church’s unofficial acceptance of clergy with dual faiths represents inclusion run amok. It clearly illustrates the overwhelming gap in faith and practice between the Episcopal Church and the majority of the Anglican Communion-not to mention the universal Christian Church.”

Judicial Watch Files Amicus Curiae Brief in California State Supreme Court in Support of Law Banning “Same-Sex Marriage”
“…The judiciary should not innovate social policy.”

WASHINGTON, June 26 /Standard Newswire/ — Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption and promotes fidelity to the rule of law, announced today that it filed an amicus curiae brief on June 19, 2007 in the California Supreme Court in support of a California state law banning same-sex marriage.

The California Supreme Court agreed to consider the issue of same-sex marriage after a state appellate court overturned a 2005 decision by California Superior Court Judge Richard A. Kramer, who ruled that same-sex couples had a constitutional right to marry. Judge Kramer’s decision invalidated a law approved by California voters in 2000 declaring that “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

“…The Court of Appeals prudently exercised judicial restraint and refused to usurp the power of the legislative by redefining or otherwise expanding by judicial fiat the concept of marriage to include the idea of same-sex marriage which has been rejected directly by the people of California…,” Judicial Watch argued in its brief.

According to the California State Constitution, “The Legislature is charged, among other things, with ‘making law…by statute.’” The role of the judiciary is too limited “to resolving specific controversies between parties.” As noted by the Court of Appeals, “judges are not free to rewrite statues to say what they would like, or what they believe to be better social policy.” The Judicial Watch brief also presents strong general arguments encouraging the California high court to exercise judicial restraint, asserting that the “judiciary should not innovate social policy.”

The California Supreme Court is considering a total of six cases on the issue of same-sex marriage. Legal representation for the same-sex couples is being provided by Lambda Legal, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union.

“The courts should not create new rights that suit the personal or political agendas of individual judges,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “Judges should not improperly usurp the power of legislatures and voters, especially on as issue as fundamental as the definition of marriage.”

To read Judicial Watch’s amicus curiae brief, please visit www.judicialwatch.org.