UPDATE ON THE PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION BAN (H.R. 1122) . . .The House recently voted, for a second time, on the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban, and passed it, by a vote of 296-132. The House had to vote again on H.R. 1122 because the Senate version, passed last May, was slightly different from the version passed by the House last March. The Senate version: 1) defined more specifically how a baby is killed by a partial-birth abortion; 2) allows the abortionist to "seek a hearing before the State Medical Board on whether the physician's conduct was necessary to save the life of the mother whose life was endangered by a physical disorder, illness or injury"; and 3) permits a partial-birth abortion if the "mother's life were endangered." On October 10, 1997, President Clinton vetoed H.R. 1122 for the second time. An override effort is expected by the House and Senate. [American Life League Capitol Hill Update, 10/24/97] ABC'S SITCOM ELLEN IN THE NEWS AGAIN . . .Before the airing of the October 8th episode of Ellen, ABC carried a special parental advisory that stated, "due to adult content, parental discretion is advised." This advisory was given because of a provocative scene in which the character, Ellen and another woman would kiss. Ellen has carried the TV-14 icon all season following the "coming out" of the character Ellen. ABC's decision to warm the public about the "kiss" irked the show's star, Ellen DeGeneres and she threatened to quit the show. In a New York Times interview, DeGeneres complained, "This advisory is telling kids something's wrong with being gay. The point of the show is to let kids know there's nothing wrong with being gay." Because of this controversy, ABC decided to conduct an Internet poll, hoping to vindicate their decision to allow "Ellen's out-of-the-closet experimentation with her homosexuality to play in primetime", stated Tim Wildmon vice-president of AFA. However, results of the poll showed that 54% of Americans do not want their children to watch same-sex kissing on television. Homosexual activists cheered the initial poll results, which were in their favor. But, after the final results were tallied, Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLADD) spokesperson Liz Tracey call the poll results "skewed" and "not necessarily valid." ABC has now backed away from the confrontation and removed the "parental advisory" the following week. [American Family Association Action Alert, 10/24/97]STUDENT SAVINGS ACCOUNT LEGISLATION PASSES THE HOUSE . . .On 10/23/97, the House passed the PARENTS & STUDENTS SAVINGS ACCOUNT PLUS (PASS A+) bill. This legislation (H.R. 2646) would permit parents to contribute up to $2,500 per child each year ($2,000 in the Senate version) to a tax-free education account. The money could be withdrawn at any time for virtually any expense associated with primary or secondary education in any public, private or home school. Sen. Paul Coverdell (R-GA) first introduced this concept as an amendment to the tax bill. The amendment passed the Senate, but was removed from the tax bill when the President threatened to veto the entire tax bill. PASS A+ was then introduced as separate Senate and House bills. Sen. Coverdell believes that stand-alone bills would allow debate to focus on a central issue, which is the question of "who decides what's best for the children." The Senate is expected to vote on the House bill in the near future. Sen. Coverdell has said he is close to a veto-proof majority in favor of the education accounts. President Clinton has indicated he would veto this legislation even though he favored the same accounts for post-secondary education. [Family Research Council Legislative Hotline 10/24/97]INTERNET PORNOGRAPHY AT OUR PUBLIC LIBRARIES . . .The American Library Association (ALA) held its annual convention in June. One agenda item, LIBRARIES' INTERNET ACCESS POLICIES, received standing-room only attendance. Many delegates asked the ALA to reconsidered its policy of allowing unfiltered access to the Internet; however, the ALA ignored these requests and passed a resolution calling for unfiltered Internet access in the nation's libraries. A spokeswoman for "Enough Is Enough", an anti-pornography group, stated that the American Library Association's refusal to protect children from Internet pornography will make the public library the equivalent of an adult bookstore. "Enough Is Enough" encourages citizens and parents to contact their local libraries and request that the library install sophisticated filtering or blocking software, even if the local libraries have to disassociate themselves from the ALA to do so. ["Enough Is Enough" Newsletter, 10/97]INTERNET GAMBLING PROTECTION ACT. .This legislation (S. 474) would outlaw Internet gambling by extending the existing federal prohibition on telephone gambling to include the Internet. This bill would empower state and federal law enforcement to get a court order to shut down a casino website or require the Internet provider to cease providing the casino operator with Internet service. Internet casino operators who do not comply would be subject to strict fines and prison sentences. Internet gambling is an over $200 million industry in the United States today and Internet casinos make gambling available in all states, despite the fact that gambling is illegal in many states and heavily regulated in the rest. Most of the Internet casinos have set up shop in the Caribbean or other overseas locations, putting them beyond the reach of any state regulation or criminal law. These casinos are being given an avenue into every home with access to the Internet, creating the potential for fraud, for feeding on problem gamblers, feeding on children or hooking new problem gamblers. Sen. Bond (R-MO), who is a cosponsor and strong supporter of this legislation, has said, "Gambling can destroy families and ruin lives. Gamblers Anonymous opened 400 new chapters in the past five years, which shows you the devastating impact it can have."CURRENT STATUS: The Senate Judiciary Committee gave final approval to this bill on 10/23/97. The bill will now go to the full Senate. [Kit Bond News, Press Release, 10/23/97] |