FRC 'Very Encouraged' by High Court Nomination; Launch Justice Sunday III
Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2005 Posted: 4:38:48PM EST
WASHINGTON - The Family Research Council is “very encouraged” by the nomination of Supreme Court Nominee Judge Samuel Alito and plans to host its third "Justice Sunday" television program to draw attention to the court, the head of the conservative Christian organization announced Tuesday.
Tony Perkins, the president of FRC, said millions of families will have the chance to participate in the national debate over the proper role of judges in the nation through Justice Sunday III. He also said the FRC will launch an ad campaign to draw attention to "activist judges" that have ruled to remove God from the public square.
At a press conference on Judge Alito's nomination at the group's Washington headquarters, Perkins and his staff said the new nominee seemed to understand the role of the judiciary in the proper way; that a justice is meant to interpret the law and leave the lawmaking to the legislators.
However the group would wait out the confirmation process before endorsing the judge.
“Let me be very clear on that," said Perkins. "We are not withholding public support for this nominee because we’re concerned about anything we see on his record.’
On the contrary, he continued, “there’s no question over this nominee, and that’s what’s encouraging about this nominee.”
"[The] president has kept his pledge to the American people that he would nominate [a justice] who had judicial philosophies along the lines of Justices Scalia and Thomas,” he added, referring to two Judges who many view as the most conservative on the nation’s high court.
Earlier this year, the FRC helped sponsor "Justice Sunday" and "Justice Sunday II" in April and August, respectively. The television programs, airing mostly on Christian broadcast and satellite stations, brought together prominent figures within evangelical Christianity to discuss what the proper role of the judiciary should be in the nation.
According to Tuesday's announcement, the third version of the program will air on Sunday, Dec. 4, but further details will be released in the coming weeks.
In explaining the need for such a program, Perkins charged the liberal members of the senate for “masquerading as champions for the downtrodden and hiding behind those issues.”
“In fact, what they’re doing in this process is they’re trying to protect the last vehicle they have to impose their radical policy agendas and ideas on the American public. And it’s through the courts," he said. "That is the discussion that this nation needs to have."
Cathy Cleaver Ruse, Senior Fellow for Legal Studies at FRC, also stepped to the podium to speak about religious liberty. She argued that the intention of the founding fathers of the country had been lost when it came to that issue.
“Americans have always been a people of faith and our faith is recognized in our most important public document, the Declaration of Independence, which speaks of inalienable rights that are endowed by our Creator – the right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” she said.
