The Libertas Society recently held its phone banking event to stop the Employment Non-discrimination Act (ENDA), which has already passed through the House and should be introduced to the Senate again shortly. ENDA would prohibit discrimination based on “sexual orientation,” forcing even religious businesses to hire gay, lesbian, and bisexual employees.

If you would like to call your Senators and voice your opposition to ENDA, the sample script used by Libertas Society members is below:

“Hi, my name is _______ and I am from (City and State). I am calling to voice my opposition to The Employment Non-Discrimination Act which has already passed by the House (H.R. 3685) and many have said will be coming before the Senate soon. Under ENDA an employer with a moral or religious belief opposed to homosexuality or bisexuality would be forced to lay down their rights and convictions at the office door. Please oppose this.”

If you do not know who your Senators are, find them here.

For more information on ENDA, click here.

Thank you for taking the time to let your voice be heard!

Constitutional Amendment. An amendment has been proposed for the Libertas Society’s Constitution, which would allow future presidents of the club to pick their own Cabinet (just as I did when Libertas was originally started). Voting will be conducted entirely by absentee ballot (email eric.lansing@libertassociety.org with your vote). Remember that if you do not vote, you will be counted as a “nay.” A copy of the proposed amendment is available at www.libertassociety.org/Amendment_III.doc.  

Presidential Elections. Lord willing, we will be holding our first members’ meeting on Saturday, February 2 (time & place TBA). I will be allowing Presidential candidates to speak and answer questions at this meeting, so if you are interested in running for President and would like to have this opportunity to promote your campaign, please email by then. Official elections will be held on February 9, assuming that at least one Presidential candidate has announced by that time.

Thanks!
Eric Lansing, President

Libertas will convene for a full members’ meeting on Saturday October 27, in Nash Auditorium for consideration of three proposals, which (if one of them is approved) will determine Libertas’s next lobbying project (click for additional information):

• Education Tax Credits
• Regulation of Abortion Clinic Quality
• Covenant Marriage

Absentee voting:

If you cannot attend the meeting, please email an absentee vote to eric.lansing@libertassociety.org. The ballot should answer these two questions:

Question #1. Which of the three issues would you prefer most: a) Education Tax Credits, b) Regulation of Abortion Clinic Quality, or c) Covenant Marriage ?

Question #2. The proposal receiving the most votes in answer to Question #1 must still receive a 2/3 majority approval of the whole club. Thus,

• If “Education Tax Credits” receives the most votes, would you vote AYE or NAY on the issue?
• If “Regulation of Abortion Clinic Quality” receives the most votes, would you vote AYE or NAY on this issue?
• If “Covenant Marriage” receives the most votes, would you vote AYE or NAY on this issue?

Many thanks to PHC alumnus Kirsten Winston for pointing this article out to me — top of the news on the PHC homepage — and to Jason Heki for writing the article about our trip to the Capitol on the 20th.

http://www.phc.edu/news/docs/20071003bMedia.asp

Dear Libertas Society:

We are excited to announce (as many of you already know from the kick-off meeting last night) that the Libertas Society is sponsoring a lobbying trip to DC on Thursday, September 20th. This is boots on the ground of the Capitol. We will leave right after wing chapel and expect to get back before dinner. (If we can get 40 people to come, our lunch will be paid for, so invite your friends!) If you are interested in going please email lpillman*at*gmail.com and let us know as soon as you can. Include the name of your Congressman (or, if you don’t know that, your ZIP code ).

In the coming days, you will need to call your Congressman and ask for an appointment on Thursday September 20th between 2:00- 3:30. If you don’t know who your congressman is, you can find out here: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt And if you are unable to set up an appointment with your Congressman, don’t let that discourage you! A visit to their staff can still be an extremely powerful statement. When you call, please keep the following information in mind:
Make sure they know you are a constituent.
Inform them you are interested in visiting and ask for the office scheduler.
Ask for a brief meeting with the congressman (10-15 minutes will be all that is necessary).
If the congressman is not available during that time ask for an appointment to speak with the office staff that works with education issues.
So looking forward to making this happen!

Dear members, 

Right now, Libertas is voting electronically on whether or not to advocate abstinence education. You should have received an email about this vote, so if you haven’t please email me at eric.lansing@libertassociety.org and let me know. For those of you who are undecided, I am posting a brief synopsis of this issue, so you can cast an informed vote.

In the past, public schools have had a terrible track record in teaching sex education. But in 1996, pro-family Congressmen successfully passed a bill to strike federal funding for sex education programs that encourage promiscuous behavior, and instead, to support abstinence education. Ever since states started implementing these programs in 1998, they have worked outstandingly. But this program needs to be renewed; and the House of Representatives has amended the program to support the old “comprehensive” (promiscuous) programs. These “comprehensive” programs have encouraged students to experiment, and to engage in activity that is both immoral and dangerous. Fortunately, the Senate version remains pure. This issue lies at the very heart of government’s duty, as presented in Romans 13, to promote virtue and to discourage vice. If the House version of sex education (supporting promiscuous sex education) prevails, then our government will be doing the exact opposite of both. Our proposal is to ensure that the Senate version prevails, so that promiscuity will be discouraged in our schools rather than promoted, and to ensure that a sound, biblical, and pro-family version of this program becomes law.

You learn more about this at the www.abstinenceassociation.org/advocacy. We will announce the results of the vote at the Libertas Society’s kick-off event at 6:00 on Wednesday in Town Hall (see post below)!

The Libertas Society would like to invite you to come and enjoy our first annual kick-off event on the 5th of September, where we will provide refreshments, share our goals for the present, and talk a little about our vision for the future. We are also very pleased to announce the presence of Claude Allen, a home school father of four who served the United States as Asst. Secretary of Health and Human Services, and later became Domestic Policy Adviser to President Bush, and was nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in 2004. For our purposes, though, Claude Allen is also a long-time supporter of abstinence education (which Libertas plans to advocate on Capitol Hill in the next few weeks) who has served as a great benefit for the Libertas Society in outlining our objectives for the Fall 2007 semester.

Where: Town Hall

When: 6:00 PM, Wednesday September 5

The Libertas Society is excited to announce that our parent organization, the Leadership Institute, will be providing us with a

Grassroots Lobbying School 

this coming Saturday, from 5:00 to 6:15

provided with free pizza,

in Founders Hall 3

“The Grassroots Activist School teaches conservatives proven organizational and communication techniques, from building a grassroots organization to grassroots lobbying.  It is both informative and intense.  Participants finish with the necessary tools to successfully compete with liberals in the public policy process.

“Whether you are a novice or a seasoned political expert, the Grassroots Activist School can refresh your view of the game, sharpen as well as teach you new skills, and empower conservatives to become a potent, decisive factor—today.” (Leadership Institute, “Grassroots Schools, 2007 Overview”)

I wanted a write a note specifically to all the freshmen I met at the Libertas Society’s table at the Activities Fair, and to thank you all for your enthusiasm and interest in one of PHC’s newest clubs. I enjoyed getting to know you guys! The Libertas Society is eager to face this upcoming new year, and to promote issues-based, pro-family grassroots activism in a way that honors God and changes our country for His sake.

A few quick notes. 

• If you’re interested in the abstinence education bill that is in Congress, right now, you can learn more at the website of the National Abstinence Education Association, an association I have been working with over the summer that is very excited about getting PHC students involved in their campaign for family values in America’s education. You can get continuing action alerts at www.abstinenceassociation.org/advocacy.
• If you want to join the Libertas Society, download our membership form at the “Join us” link above, and either email the completed form to Derek Archer (drarcher@students.phc.edu) or give a hard copy to me.
• We will keep you updated on the final date for our kickoff event. If you want to join our mailing list, please note the column to the right (”Subscribe” box).

In Christ,

Eric Lansing, President

Thanks to your help the President has given his word that he will veto this legislation even though it passed the House. Thanks for all your help.