Tweet
HR306 - RETURNING STOLEN CHURCHES TO CHRISTIANS POSTED AUGUST 1, 2011
Chattanoogan
http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_206220.asp
Aug 1, 2011
The Return of Churches and the Armenian Genocide Resolution, H.Res.
306, introduced by Congressmen Robert Dold (R-IL) and Adam Schiff
(D-CA), safeguards Christian heritage. The Christian rights legislation
reflects and reaffirms the long and proud history of principled
leadership by the U.S. Congress in protecting religious freedom
abroad-for Christians and for peoples of all faiths. The religious
freedom measure represents an effort to highlight, confront, and
eventually reverse decades of official Turkish policy of destroying
Christian church properties, desecrating holy sites, discriminating
against Christian communities, and denying of the right of Armenians,
Greeks, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Pontians, Arameans (Syriacs), and others
to practice their faith in freedom.
The measure is consistent with many other resolutions adopted by the
U.S. House over the past several decades defending religious freedom
and protecting sacred sites and places of worship, as well as with the
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 and America's longstanding
leadership in supporting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Despite the fact that the bill was passed by the Foreign Affairs
Committee almost unanimously, Freshman Congressman Chuck Fleischmann
(R-TN) chose not to co-sponsor it.
Calls and visits to Mr. Fleischmann's staff were either ignored or
hastily terminated; it is abundantly clear that discrimination against
Christians is of no importance to Mr. Fleischmann.
The bill will come before the House of Representatives within the next
several months. I encourage you to contact Mr. Fleischmann's office and
request that he show support for our Christian brothers and sisters
abroad, and vote in favor of it. Seeing as our rights as Americans
are being further restricted every day by the current government,
it is imperative to set a precedent of supporting other Christians,
as the time may well come - given the administration that we have -
when it is the Christians of America who are being persecuted and
whose rights are being taken away.
Bearj Barsoumian Harrison
Chattanoogan
http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_206220.asp
Aug 1, 2011
The Return of Churches and the Armenian Genocide Resolution, H.Res.
306, introduced by Congressmen Robert Dold (R-IL) and Adam Schiff
(D-CA), safeguards Christian heritage. The Christian rights legislation
reflects and reaffirms the long and proud history of principled
leadership by the U.S. Congress in protecting religious freedom
abroad-for Christians and for peoples of all faiths. The religious
freedom measure represents an effort to highlight, confront, and
eventually reverse decades of official Turkish policy of destroying
Christian church properties, desecrating holy sites, discriminating
against Christian communities, and denying of the right of Armenians,
Greeks, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Pontians, Arameans (Syriacs), and others
to practice their faith in freedom.
The measure is consistent with many other resolutions adopted by the
U.S. House over the past several decades defending religious freedom
and protecting sacred sites and places of worship, as well as with the
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 and America's longstanding
leadership in supporting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Despite the fact that the bill was passed by the Foreign Affairs
Committee almost unanimously, Freshman Congressman Chuck Fleischmann
(R-TN) chose not to co-sponsor it.
Calls and visits to Mr. Fleischmann's staff were either ignored or
hastily terminated; it is abundantly clear that discrimination against
Christians is of no importance to Mr. Fleischmann.
The bill will come before the House of Representatives within the next
several months. I encourage you to contact Mr. Fleischmann's office and
request that he show support for our Christian brothers and sisters
abroad, and vote in favor of it. Seeing as our rights as Americans
are being further restricted every day by the current government,
it is imperative to set a precedent of supporting other Christians,
as the time may well come - given the administration that we have -
when it is the Christians of America who are being persecuted and
whose rights are being taken away.
Bearj Barsoumian Harrison