Constitutional Conservative Responds to Liberal in Newspaper Letter Regarding First Amendment's Religious Freedom Clause

I teach Constitution Classes a couple times a week in the Temecula Area.  On Thursday Nights we meet at Faith Armory on Enterprise Circle West, and on Tuesday Nights in Calvary Chapel Murrieta's Spanish Ministry Room (note, we will not meet this Tuesday because of a Teacher's Meeting, but will resume the following Tuesday). Both Classes begin at 6:00 pm.

Jane, who has been in the Temecula Class for a couple years, largely because she assists me when it comes to the part of organizing the meetings, among other things, has learned a lot, and tells me all the time how happy she is to have learned what she has learned from me.

She sent me this Email, today, and let me tell you how thrilled I was to read it.  This is why I teach these classes. This is the reason I fight for the Constitution. Education about the Constitution is a large part of how we will be able to take back this country.

The Email is as follows:


Hi Doug and class,

The blue link below, will take you to a letter that, an obvious Socialist and obama lover wrote, that appeared in the Californian today. It is titled "Women Should Be Outraged". This guy is mad at the Republicans for the fuss they are making over the birth control issue and thinks they are intruding on church issues (obama isn't?). He sites the First Amendment, but, only used the first phrase "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion", but, neglects to state the rest of it "or prohibiting the free exercise, thereof". When I read his statement that "President Obama is following the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights", I almost fell off my chair and had to calm down my heart.

For those of you who don't receive the Californian, or haven't seen this letter, I just wanted to pass the information on to you and give you the opportunity to respond, if you would like to and to see what kind of voters are in our midst. Scary, isn't it? This is why it is so important for all of us to learn about the Constitution and it's original intent and to try to educate people.

http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/letters/letters-the-californian-march/article_aa3d1844-d7b1-51b9-8eb3-d9ee8a9f2a2e.html

This is my response to him:

Bill Wasley (letters Friday, March 2, 2012) is upset with the Republicans regarding their attitude toward birth control and women’s rights. He used the First Amendment as his argument that the Republicans are over-stepping their bounds and getting involved with religious issues. He sited a line from the First Amendment “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion…”, but, omitted “…or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”. He stated that “it prohibits the government from endorsing religion in general or one set of religious beliefs (birth control), which is exactly what the Republicans are doing”. Is Obamacare not “prohibiting the free exercise thereof” by mandating that the Catholic Church include birth control in their insurance policies, which goes against their ideology and the separation of church and state (state meaning the Federal Government)? Why is it acceptable for Obama to intrude on religious beliefs? The Tenth Amendment states “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people”. Please show me, where in the Constitution, it states that the Federal Government can mandate healthcare and birth control? Mr. Wasley is selectively misdirected.

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