Chris Smith: “meting out new Federal punishments, including long prison terms and ruinous criminal and civil fines on those who…”

“meting out new Federal punishments, including long prison terms and ruinous criminal and civil fines on those who nonviolently and peacefully picket, sit in, or pray and sing at abortion mills, and to do so in a way that it is construed to be obstruction or interference, H.R. 796 makes a mockery of equal justice under law. No other cause, Mr. Speaker, no other movement, no other viewpoint, is singled out in this way. Sit in at an abortion mill for higher wages or benefits, the local ordinances sway if you are arrested. Sit it in the identical way to try to protect a life, and you go to prison for a year, and you also face very huge fines, both civil and criminal. Mr. Speaker, in order to get the House to focus on this precedent-setting abuse of police powers contained in this bill, I intend to ask for a serious of votes on both procedural and substantive questions. I agree, Mr. Speaker, that we need tough penalties for those on either side who use violence. Let us craft such a bill. But H.R. 796 represents a cynical abuse of police powers to crush peaceful pro-life nonviolent dissent. Mr. Speaker, I say to my colleagues, take the time to understand the ramifications of this bill.”