Political Quotes

“I support the International Religious Freedom Act presented by the Assistant Majority Leader, the Senator from Oklahoma and the Senator from Connecticut. We have discussed this legislation at some length over the last couple of weeks, and my colleagues have been very gracious in trying to accommodate some of my concerns with the bill. Although it is not a perfect bill, it is a compromise that I support. The persecution of individuals for their faith, like persecution for political beliefs or ethnicity, is abhorrent to all Americans. Unfortunately, too many nations around the world fail to protect the basic human rights of their citizens. The reasons for this are often complex and varied--but they are never justified. What justification can there be, for example, for the jailing by the Chinese government of thousands of dissidents--not to mention a few Catholic leaders who choose to remain loyal to the Vatican, rather than bow to the dictates of the so-called ``official'' church in Beijing? What justification can there be for a law in Russia which appears to discriminate between ``established'' religious organizations and those whose roots in Russia are not long-standing? As a nation founded on the premise that ``all men are created equal. . .endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights'', Americans have long been committed to promoting and protecting human rights.”