Black Pastors: Impeach Holder

CNS
February 25, 2014 - 10:53 AM
By Penny Starr

Black Pastors: Impeach Holder

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The Rev. Bill Owens, president and founder of the Coalition of African American Pastors (CAAP) spoke at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 25, 2014.

(CNSNews.com) – A coalition of black pastors announced on Tuesday at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. that they are launching a campaign to gather one million signatures on a petition calling for the impeachment of Attorney General Eric Holder for violating his oath of office by trying "to coerce states to fall in line with the same-sex 'marriage' agenda."

"President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have turned their backs on the values the American people hold dear, values particularly cherished in the black community: values like marriage, which should be strengthened and promoted, rather than weakened and undermined," says a statement by the Coalition of African American Pastors that has been posted online with their impeachment petition.

"Our nation calls for the building up of a healthier marriage culture; instead, our elected leaders are bent on destroying marriage, remaking it as a genderless institution and reorienting it to be all about the desires of adults rather than the needs of children," says the coalition.

"In pursuing this intention, the president and his administration are trampling the rule of law.Attorney General Holder in particular has used the influence of his office and role as the chief law enforcement figure in our nation to try to coerce states to fall in line with the same-sex ‘marriage’ agenda," says the coaltion. :Millions of voters in 30 states have voted to defend marriage as the union of one man and one woman, but Attorney General Holder is attempting single-handedly to throw those votes away!

"For abandoning the oath he swore in taking office and his duty to defend the common good, Attorney General Holder should be impeached by Congress," says the coalition. "CAAP is calling on all men and women of good will to sign the following petition urging Congress to take action against the Attorney General’s lawlessness today!"

The Rev. Bill Owens, founder and president of CAAP, said that political leaders in Washington have not held Holder accountable.

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President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder (AP Photo)

“Yet our leaders in Washington are letting him get away with his illegal conduct and doing nothing meaningful to hold him accountable,” said Owens. “Our campaign to gather one million signatures of citizens calling for Holder’s impeachment is intended to create a groundswell of support, giving congressional leadership the encouragement necessary to remove this dangerous ideologue from public office.”

Owens stressed that the petition is meant for all citizens regardless of race or creed.
“Marriage is an institution that benefits all of society; therefore every citizen has an interest in protecting marriage from these brazen attacks,” Owens said.

On Tuesday, Holder told a gathering of state attorneys-general that it's okay if they don't defend laws in their states that prohibit same-sex marriage:

"Now, any decisions at any level not to defend individual laws must be exceedingly rare. They must be reserved only for exceptional – truly exceptional – circumstances. And they must never stem merely from policy or political disagreements, hinging instead only on firm constitutional grounds," Holder said.

“But in general, I believe we must be suspicious of legal classifications based solely on sexual orientation. And we must endeavor in all of our efforts to uphold and advance the values that once led our forebears to declare unequivocally that all are created equal and entitled to equal opportunity."

The CAAP petition for the impeachment of Holder is addressed directly to the U.S. Congress.
“I write today to urge you to take immediate action against the Attorney General of the United States for his lawless attempts to undermine states sovereign laws regarding marriage,” says the CAAP petition. “Attorney General Holder should be impeached for abandoning his duty to uphold and defend the law and for pushing a radical agenda on the states in a manner out of keeping with the obligations of his office.”

“I urge you to bring impeachment against Eric Holder for his reckless attempts to undermine our states’ constitutional marriage laws and the voices and values of millions of voters,” the petition says.

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