THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume VIII, Issue # 151, August 11, 2006
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
LEGISLATION AGAINST JUDICIAL ACTIVISM:
New Bill to Protect the Republic from
Activist Judges Needs Cosponsors
By Tom DeWeese
THE "WE THE PEOPLE" ACT: PROPOSED CONGRESSIONAL LEGISLATION DESIGNED TO CURB JUDICIAL ACTIVISM &
PREVENT ACTIVIST FEDERAL JUDGES FROM UNDERMINING & DESTROYING AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONALISM,
REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT, & LIBERTY UNDER LAW -- LEGISLATION TO PROTECT AMERICAN FEDERALISM, STATE
AUTONOMY, & LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT -- WHAT ACTION MUST WE TAKE TO ENSURE PASSAGE BY CONGRESS OF H.R.
5739?
FULL STORY:
Activist judges have been a plague on American liberty for decades. Many of their rulings, based more on political ideology
and political agendas than on the rule of law and the actual provisions of the United States Constitution, are undermining
and destroying the reserved powers of the states under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution and the guarantee of a
republican form of government to each and every state under Article IV of the Constitution. Activist judges are destroying
state autonomy and local self-government and are a threat to individual liberty.
For example, the United States Supreme Court has used its powers to, in effect, overturn the abortion laws of all 50 states.
After the Roe v. Wade decision, states, under threat of further legal action, were forced to rewrite their laws to fit the
decision of the activist majority on the Supreme Court.
In Alabama, Judge Roy Moore was forced to remove the Ten Commandments from the State Supreme Court grounds because
a federal judge declared the monument to be in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution and therefore an unconstitutional attempt to establish a state religion.
Now, there is a looming danger that federal judges with political agendas will use their bench powers to overturn
voter-approved ballot measures and state legislative efforts regarding such public policy issues as the legal definition of
marriage.
So great is the power of activist judges that local public school boards are literally banning everything from voluntary prayer
in schools to wearing a tee shirt with a Christian message, doing so for fear federal courts will take action against school
officials. Across the nation, the outrageous spectacle of local communities banned from displaying nativity scenes during the
Christmas season is all too common.
Activist judges have declared themselves the power over state legislatures, school boards, and city and county councils.
Prayer in public places, personal privacy, and now marriage laws are under siege from federal courts. Courts, in turn, are
responding to a battery of lawsuits filed by such predatory Liberal Leftist activist groups as the American Civil Liberties
Union (ACLU); in so responding, the courts are making the ACLU more powerful than locally-elected officials.
All of this is in pursuit of a radical agenda of political centralization, statist public policy, and social engineering profoundly
hostile to constitutional democracy and individual liberty.
Americans have long wanted something done about this situation. The answer now comes from Congressman Ron Paul
(Republican - Texas). He has just introduced the “We The People” Act (H.R. 5739).
The We The People Act forbids federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, from adjudicating cases concerning state
laws and polices relating to religious liberties or “privacy,” including cases involving sexual practices, sexual orientation, or
human reproduction. The We the People Act also protects the traditional definition of marriage from judicial activism by
ensuring the Supreme Court cannot abuse the equal protection clause to redefine marriage.
What action must we take to ensure passage by Congress of the We The People Act? Congress will use its constitutional
powers to restrain activist judges only if and when it hears from the American people. And there is only one way the We The
People Act will get a fair hearing and a vote in the Congress. It needs cosponsors – lots of them. As a citizen of the United
States and of the state in which you reside, please do the following:
1. Call or write your congressman and tell him/her to take a stand
against activist judges by supporting the We The People Act
(H.R. 5739). Most importantly, urge them to sign on as cosponsors
of the bill. The bill needs at least 100 cosponsors, if it is to get a
fair hearing in the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.
Phone calls and letters are the most effective way to contact
Congress. E-mails and faxes are many times ignored. Members of
Congress have been changing their e-mail addresses and fax
numbers when we send out alerts. You can send an e-mail by
going to each House member’s website at http://thomas.gov.
How to call: Place a call to the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-225-3121.
Ask for your congressman by name and the operator will connect
you to his/her office.
How to Write:
Congressman _______________________
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
2. Call or write Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (Republican - Wisconsin),
Chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee to let him know you
support the bill. He is the one who will determine the fate of the bill
in committee.
U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary
Telephone: 202-225-3951
Mailing Address:
2138 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-6216
3. Call or write Representative Lamar Smith (Republican - Texas), Chairman of the “Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet,
and Intellectual Property.” His subcommittee has the bill under consideration right now.
Subcommittee on the Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property
Telephone: 202-225-5741
Mailing Address:
B-352 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-6219
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Appointment of U.S. Federal Judges
Legal Issues, Lawyers, & America's Judiciary
U.S. Constitutional Law & Political Philosophy
The Constitution of the United States of America
American Government -- Constitutional System
---------------------------------------
THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENTAL SYSTEM
The American Political System -- Politics &
Government in the U.S.A.: Political Science Course
The American Constitutional System -- Origins:
English Antecedents
The American Constitutional System -- Origins:
Colonial & Early American Antecedents
The American Constitutional System -- Origins:
The Federal Constitutional Convention of 1787
The American Constitutional System -- Origins:
The U.S. Constitution -- Ratification & Adoption
The American Constitutional System -- Origins:
The U.S. Constitution -- The Scheme of National Government
The American Constitutional System -- Principal Characteristics:
Constitutionalism, Republicanism, Separation of Powers,
Checks & Balances, Legislative Bicameralism,
& Balanced Government
The American Constitutional System -- Principal Characteristics:
Federalism -- Fedural Union of States
The U.S. Constitution -- Underlying Political Theory:
The Federalist -- Selected Essays
Tom DeWeese is the Publisher and Editor of The DeWeese Report and President of the American Policy Center, a
grassroots activist think tank headquartered in Warrenton, Virginia, and dedicated to advancing the principles of private
property rights, free markets, and constitutionally limited government. The Center maintains an Internet website at
www.americanpolicy.org.
Copyright 2006 American Policy Center
Published with Permission of the American Policy Center
Return to Top of Page
Go to the WEBSITE INDEX
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Public Issues & Political Controversies
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
Most Recent Articles
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Volume VIII, 2006
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Subject Matter Highlights
Return to POLITICAL EDUCATION Homepage
CONTACT & ACCESS INFORMATION
This is not a commercial website. The sole purpose of the website is to share with interested persons information regarding civics,
civic and social education, political science, government, politics, law, constitutional law and history, public policy, and political
philosophy and history, as well as current and recent political developments, public issues, and political controversies.
POLITICAL EDUCATION, CONSERVATIVE ANALYSIS
POLITICS, SOCIETY, & THE SOVEREIGN STATE
Website of Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr.
Government, Politics, Public Policy, Legal Issues, Constitutional Law, Government & the Economy, Cultural Values, Foreign Affairs,
International Relations, Military Defense & National Security, Geopolitics, Terrorism & Homeland Security, American National Interests,
Political Systems & Processes, Political Institutions, Political Ideologies, & Political Philosophy
INDEX FOR THE ENTIRE WEBSITE
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Conservative & Free-Market Analysis of Government, Politics & Public Policy, Covering Political, Legal, Constitutional, Economic,
Cultural, Military, International, Strategic, & Geopolitical Issues