Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice (acronym ACLJ: get it? Almost ACLU, but a hell of a long way from it!) is upset that the Dept of Homeland Security (once under the "guidance" of Michael Chertoff, whose claim to Right Wing extremist fame was as the lead prosecutor of former President Bill Clinton in the failed impeachment over the Monica blowjob scandle) now under the guidance of Janet Napolitano, has seen fit to issue warnings that increasingly frustated antibortion militants could again begin killing physicians and staff at clinics, doctors' offices and hospitals where abortions, birth control, and other reproductive health care is provided.
And the Roman Catholic Church has republished Jay's letter on their blog, Catholic.org.
According the Catholic.org, The report creates a very troubling climate for those who want to exercise their constitutional rights to speak out about protecting the life of the unborn said Jay Sekulow.
Read the RCC and Jay's rant below the fold:
Campaign for Retraction of Extremist Label on Pro-Lifers
'extremists.' 4/21/2009
LifeSiteNews (www.lifesitenews.com)
The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) announced it is launching a national campaign demanding that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) retract a warning it included in a recent report on domestic terrorism that labels pro-life supporters as 'extremists'.
Actually, the report only labels "pro-life supporters" who have advocated and carried out attacks on persons and facilities involved in reproductive health care as extremists. Like the "Good Catholic boy" who murdered two young women and wounded several others in two Brookline, MA several years ago, and that "gentle Christian" called Atomic Dog who murdered Dr. Slepian in his home near Buffalo, NY.
And the list goes on.
It is "pro-life supporters" like those, and those who overtly and covertly support these violent activities that the DHS warning is directed to. But if Jay wishes to label all Pro-Lifers with that smear, it is ok with me. Quite frankly, it is often very difficult to tell the difference between Jay's "pro-life supporters" and those who advocate and support violent attacks on people like me and our patients and staff.
At the same time, the ACLJ is notifying all 50 states that the report - and the offensive warning - should not be used to curtail the First Amendment rights of pro-life supporters. Further, the ACLJ is supporting a call for Congressional hearings on the DHS report.
"The report creates a very troubling climate for those who want to exercise their constitutional rights to speak out about protecting the life of the unborn," said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ.
"It's now clear the DHS ignored its own internal concerns about this outrageous and inflammatory warning. We're very concerned that this disturbing report not be used by law enforcement agencies around the country to silence the legitimate First Amendment rights of pro-life supporters.
"The fact is that the DHS must retract this offensive reference. We also support the call for Congressional hearings to get to the bottom of this. The DHS report represents at the very least - bad judgment - and at worst - an Administration-backed effort to intimidate and silence pro-life supporters."
The DHS's April 7th warning is entitled: "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment." Included in its assessment is this reference to specific groups, including those who oppose abortion:
"Rightwing extremism ... may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration." (Read the DHS assessment here:
http://www.aclj.org/...
News reports now reveal that the civil rights division inside the DHS expressed concern about the definition of terrorists, which included the 'extremism' label being applied to groups that oppose abortion. But, the DHS issued the report without addressing those concerns. Some members of Congress - including Rep. Peter King (NY) - are now calling for hearings to investigate the DHS report.
Sekulow sent a demand letter to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano outlining the ACLJ's concerns and demanding a retraction. That letter is here: http://www.aclj.org/...
The ACLJ is urging Americans to sign on to its Demand for Retraction to the DHS (See: https://www.aclj.org/...
So there you have it, folks. The ACLJ and the RCC wants all Americans to sign on to their demands for a retraction of the DHS's warnings.
As a physician who provides reproductive health care,who puts my life on the line every day as do my colleagues in reproductive health care, perhaps to eventually to be murdered by one of these religious nuts, we are asking you to support the DHS warnings. The life saved by these warnings might just be of someone you know and love.