Joe Barton: “I rise in opposition to the Freedom of Access to Clinics Act, S. 636. If passed, for the first time in our Nation's…”

“I rise in opposition to the Freedom of Access to Clinics Act, S. 636. If passed, for the first time in our Nation's history we will make it a Federal crime in a real sense to express an opinion on an issue that some people may think is politically incorrect, i.e., that pro-life is a very important issue that we should all try to support. There are enough laws on the books at the Federal level, State level, and local level to prevent protesters that abuse the right to peacefully demonstrate on public property. We do not need to make a Federal crime out of pro-life believers who try to counsel on sidewalks and who try to in some way exercise their first-amendment rights to freedom of speech. I know that some pro-life protesters have abused the privilege that we have in our Constitution. I know that those protesters have been dealt with very aggressively at the State and local level. We certainly do not need to make this a Federal crime. We should legislate for the general, not for the exceptional, rule, and for that reason I would hope that we would vote this bill down and vote no.”