[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 13215]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       FREE EXERCISE OF RELIGION

  (Mr. COLLINS of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise in defense of the First 
Amendment right to free exercise of religion.
  Thomas Jefferson once asked:

       Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we 
     have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds 
     of the people that these liberties are a gift from God?

  The clear answer is no.
  If freedom of religion is not protected in the very places where laws 
are crafted, how can we expect the laws enacted to respect each 
individual's freedom of religion?
  As a pastor and a chaplain, I believe that freedom of religion isn't 
some mere abstract concept to be debated in the Halls of Congress or 
before the Supreme Court. Religious freedom gave me the ability to 
preach God's word in Georgia, and religious freedom allowed me to give 
faith-based encouragement to soldiers while I served alongside them in 
Iraq.
  It is a precious liberty our Founders fought and died to protect, and 
I will not allow freedom and free exercise of religious liberties to be 
undermined here or anywhere.

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