PAtownhall.com
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
PAtownhall.com
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
October 25, 2007
by Newsletter
Volume 3, Issue 36
October 25, 2007
The Pennsylvania Family Institute's weekly update to concerned citizens.
Michael Geer, President
Attention: PA Family Institute has printable versions of the Family Update that can be downloaded and printed easily! Follow this link to get a 1-page version that you can hand out to your friends and family: http://www.pafamily.org/pages/index.php?pID=78
!Please forward this email to family and friends!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quote of the Week
"There are no hopeless situations; There are only men who have grown hopeless about them."
~ Clare Boothe Luce
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pennsylvania News
House Bill 288 Postponed Until November. Thank you to all who contacted your representatives! We must keep up the opposition to this bill and spread the word to others in your church or E-mail network. House Bill 288 would mandate that all hospitals in Pennsylvania make "emergency contraception" available to rape victims. Some medical experts say that "Plan B" or "emergency contraception" actually causes an abortion in certain cases. Contact your state representative and urge them to vote NO on HB 288. It's a matter of protecting the freedom of religion and right of conscience of religious hospitals and health care staff. Use our Citizen Action Center!
Online Judicial Voters' Guide Available! PFI's 2007 online Judicial Voters' Guide is now ready to view and print online at our website: www.pafamily.org. Feel free to print and copy for your church or direct people to our website. And don't forget to vote on Tuesday, November 6!
Tell Your State Representative: Vote 'Yes' on Grandparent Rights, HB 1548, up for vote Oct. 29th! Pennsylvania Family Council supports HB 1548, a good and important bipartisan pro-family bill by Rep. Kortz and Rep. Vulakovich and 50 co-sponsors. Children who are moved out of a dangerous situation are routinely moved into foster care or into institutional care. Sometimes the best candidates for caring for "dependent" children are overlooked: their own grandparents. House Bill 1548 provides a mechanism for grandparents to be evaluated for placement of their "dependent" grandchildren and gives them the ability to be represented in court when the determination is made.
Take Action by contacting your state representative using our Citizen Action Center.
News posted daily at www.PAFamily.org!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marriage News
Philadelphia City Council Forgets Public Purpose of Marriage. The Bulletin (www.thebulletin.us) reported that the Finance Committee of the Philadelphia City Council unanimously passed a measure amending the city's realty transfer tax to exempt individuals "who live together as a single household and who, for at least six months, have agreed to share the common necessities of life and to be responsible for each other's common welfare, including, but not limited to, domestic partners, whether of the same or opposite sex" from the tax. "The whole idea of the public purpose of marriage is completely lost on the council," stated Tom Shaheen, vice president for policy for PFI.
Visit PA4Marriage.org to learn about the Marriage Protection Amendment campaign in Pennsylvania!
Marriage news posted daily at www.PA4marriage.org!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
National News
Judge Southwick Confirmed, No Help from Casey. Judge Southwick was confirmed by the senate on Wednesday, October 24, 2007. In January, Judge Leslie Southwick received a presidential nomination to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Senator Bob Casey, Jr voted against allowing an up-or-down vote for Southwick's confirmation. When the vote did take place, he also voted against confirmation. Take action by contacting Senator Bob Casey, Jr and telling him what you think of his vote against Southwick!
National news posted daily at www.PAFamily.org!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PFI News
Keep up with PFI: Check our website every day for new content! www.pafamily.org
Listen to Michael Geer, President of PFI, will be featured on WDAC Spotlight with Greg Barton on Saturday, October 27, at 12:30PM. Listen at 94.5 FM or online at www.wdac.com.
Family Research Council Washington Briefing A Success! A large crowd of over 2,000 conservative voices from across the nation gathered last weekend in Washington, DC for the 2007 "Values Voters" Summit. Hosted by FRC Action and several other pro-family groups, the summit featured three days of special events, including speeches from several presidential candidates. Dr. James Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family Action, was honored for his decades of work devoted to sharing the Gospel, protecting and supporting families and defending religious liberties.
Don't Miss Bella, opening Oct 26! Bella is an amazing and beautiful independent film about life, family and the beauty of adoption. The movie has been endorsed by Focus on the Family and the American Family Association. It has also won the Toronto, Sundance and Heartland Film Festivals. It is important that this film does well on the opening weekend. If it is well attended in theatres then it will be carried for weeks or months instead of days. When the movie opens it is currently scheduled to play in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh (starting November 9). Go online to www.BellaLifeEmails.com and purchase advanced tickets or contact your local theater and ask them to show the film.
Independence Law Center Announces Win for Church's Homeless Ministry. A Methodist Church in suburban Philadelphia opened a homeless ministry to allow persons facing homelessness to stay at the church free of charge and to receive counseling while they got back on their feet financially. The Township zoning officer took a different view of the ministry and ordered them to stop, claiming that such a ministry was not permitted in the zone in which the church was located. The Independence Law Center assisted the church and their attorney, William Ewing, with the federal statutory and constitutional issues in an appeal from the zoning officer's cease and desist order. The church won back the right to conduct its ministry.
Don't Miss Michael Geer's The Common Good and Family Update Radio Shows on Christian Radio Stations throughout Pa and online through our podcasts.
This week's guest 1: Ben Stein, author and actor, introducing his new movie, Expelled, due in February.
Guest 2: Gary Bauer, president of American Values, discussing FRC's Washington Briefing and why Christians need to be good citizens.
The Pennsylvania Family Institute is a non-profit organization made possible through financial donations from our supporters. To donate to Pennsylvania Family Institute, click here: www.pafamily.org/donate
23 N. Front St. Harrisburg, PA 17101 ~ Phone: 717-545-0600 ~ Fax: 717-545-8107 ~ www.pafamily.org
