[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 1213]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  0910
                   AN ASSAULT ON THE FIRST AMENDMENT

  (Ms. FOXX asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, those who say that conservative opposition to 
the Obama administration's rules on forcing religious groups to provide 
birth control coverage in their insurance plans is an assault on women 
are wrong and shortsighted. That rule is an assault on all Americans 
and on the First Amendment of the Constitution.
  It reminds me of a famous quote attributed to Pastor Martin 
Niemoller:

       First they came for the Communists, and I didn't speak out 
     because I wasn't a Communist.
       Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak 
     out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
       Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak out because 
     I wasn't a Jew.
       Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak out 
     because I was a Protestant.
       Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak 
     out for me.

  Mr. Speaker, we have to speak out on this issue. It is an assault on 
the First Amendment. It's an assault on the rights of all Americans.

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