AMAC: An army gathers to defend the Bill of Rights

July 20, 2012 - PRLog -- BOHEMIA, NY – “The Bill of Rights is under attack but a determined army is gathering in its defense, bolstered this week by Billy Graham’s Alma Mater, Wheaton College,” said Dan Weber, president of the Association of Mature American Citizens.

The Wheaton, Illinois-based institution announced Wednesday that it was joining the Catholic University of America in the Washington, D.C. District Court to oppose “the Obamacare mandate that dictates what a religious institution can and cannot do,” the AMAC chief stated.

“Freedom of Religion is the very first right granted us by our Founding Fathers and now the President seeks to challenge it.  He would impose his own interpretation of religious principles.  What’s next, Freedom of Speech,” Weber asked.

“Wheaton College and other distinctively Christian institutions are faced with a clear and present threat to our religious liberty,” Wheaton College President Dr. Philip Ryken said in a news release. “Our first president, the abolitionist Jonathan Blanchard, believed it was imperative to act in defense of freedom. In bringing this suit, we act in defense of freedom again.”

The provision in the Affordable Care Act in question requires Wheaton, Catholic University and all other such institutions to provide contraceptives, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs to employees and students, no matter what their religious convictions demand,” Weber explained.

“It’s preposterous and, perhaps, the most serious challenge to our basic rights and personal freedom since the American Revolution.  That’s why two dozen suits have been filed thus far challenging the law.”

In addition, Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange has filed a motion to intervene in the court challenge.  He said the law forces Alabama to regulate its health insurance market in a way that violates both the U.S. Constitution and the Alabama Constitution.  As he put it, “Alabama law does not allow anyone to be forced to offer a product that is against his or her religious beliefs or conscience” said Strange.

Weber noted that the Association of Mature American Citizens “has been in the forefront of this fight right from the beginning.”  He said that “our members have told us that it is important to them.  Many are concerned on religious grounds, but many more fear the erosion of all of our rights as granted in the Bill of Rights.”

NOTE TO EDITORS: Dan Weber and Jeffrey Anderson are available for telephone interviews on this issue.  Please contact John Grimaldi at 917-846-8485 or jpgrimaldi@verizon.net to set up a chat.

ABOUT AMAC
The Association of Mature American Citizens [http://www.amac.us] is a vibrant, vital and conservative alternative to those traditional organizations, such as AARP, that dominate the choices for mature Americans who want a say in the future of the nation.  Where those other organizations may boast of their power to set the agendas for their memberships, AMAC takes its marching orders from its members.  We act and speak on their behalf, protecting their interests, and offering a conservative insight on how to best solve the problems they face today.