J.C. Watts: “under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, Americans have the freedom of speech. In the same…”

“under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, Americans have the freedom of speech. In the same amendment, our founding fathers declared Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Much to the dismay of many of my friends on the other side of the aisle, the two concepts do not cancel out each other. They are not mutually exclusive. Americans who believe in God ought not to have their freedom of speech muzzled in the name of the law. I am pleased to be a co-sponsor of this legislation to stop harassing churches and other places of worship when someone mentions politics. Those of us who support this bill are not advocating turning religious organizations into political parties. Rather, the legislation before us would permit the occasional discussion of issues of importance to congregations comprised of voting citizens. The gag rule on pastors, priests, rabbis and other religious leaders was not part of the Bill Of Rights. It was an amendment to a 19-54 tax bill by Senator Lyndon Johnson. There were no hearings. Rather, restrictions were imposed on people of faith as revolutionaries began their quest to remove any reference to a Creator from our one nation under God. I don't believe Al Gore or Hillary Clinton should be banned from speaking at Riverside Baptist Church just because it is a place of religion.”