Congress responds on religious liberty and action needed on the Supreme Court’s FCC ruling
Contact the FCC and urge them to continue to enforce broadcast decency laws.
June 25, 2012
Congress responds on religious liberty – Sixty-six members of Congress, led by Congressman Randy Forbes (R-VA), have written a letter to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, urging him to investigate a pattern of hostility towards faith in the United States military, particularly the Air Force.
On June 19, one day after AFA’s Action Alert asking you contact your representative, members sent this letter to Panetta.
It says, in part:
“Mr. Secretary, the combination of events…raises concerns that the Air Force is developing a culture that is hostile towards religion. We request that you investigate…and issue clear Department of Defense policy guidance, consistent with our Constitution, to preserve the place of religious expression in the military at large.”
Your efforts are making a difference and Congress is hearing you!
Supreme Court’s FCC ruling – Last week, the US Supreme Court upheld the law banning the broadcast of “any obscene, indecent, or profane language,” but struck down fines against FOX Television Stations, Inc. and ABC Television Network. The fines were invalidated because the FCC did give adequate notice of its new enforcement standards against broadcast indecency before assessing the fines. All the conservative Justices joined with the liberals because this is a ruling against arbitrary governmental penalties, not a ruling against broadcast decency.
Fox and ABC committed the offenses when the new Bush administration attempted to revive enforcement of broadcast decency, which had languished during the Clinton administration. The Fox offenses related to crude language spoken by Cher and Nicole Richie during the 2002 and 2003 Billboard Music Awards. The ABC offense involved a 2003 episode of NYPD Blue where a little boy was exposed partial nudity when he walked in on his dad’s girlfriend taking a shower.
Had hundreds of thousands of AFA supporters not filed complaints with the FCC, this case may have never found its way to the Supreme Court.
Now that the Supreme Court has validated broadcast decency laws, CONTACT THE FCC and urge them to rigorously enforce them.
