Pennsylvania Democrat Brian Sims tells his colleagues that he swore to uphold the state constitution and not the Bible. This statement was offered during a floor debate about the ACA in regards to Pennsylvania state-run health insurance exchanges from covering abortion in any of Republican plans. The Republican run House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to pass House Bill 818, which bans state insurance plans set up under the Affordable Care Act from offering abortion coverage.
Sims told his colleagues during a floor debate in the House of Representatives. "As a reminder, Mr. Speaker, I do believe this has been forgotten entirely by many of my colleagues today: Each of us put our hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution. We did not place our hands on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible."
I find it refreshing when someone can clearly state the difference. Thank you Brian.
Brian took office on December 12th of 2012 as the first gay member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He's an advocate for civil rights.
"As a civil rights advocate, I see clearly as do millions of men and women across the commonwealth that this bill's purpose is to discriminate against women, and most often women with less means than many of my colleagues have today," Sims said.
Time for my rant:
Most Republicans have an agenda to replace the law of man with the Bible. And only their interpretation of Bible. They have a right wing base that is theocratic. That base believes in so much that is nonsense. Life begins at conception yet a single cell human embryo is indistinguishable from any other primate (ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny). The cosmos is only 6,000 years old and we were spontaneously created. Loving a person of the same sex is a sin. Their beliefs drive them to find Biblical passages that will reinforce that belief, despite what that passage might say ten words later. I don't doubt that there is a correlation to these religious beliefs and the popularity of TV shows about Bigfoot or ghosts. Science is a thing to be mocked by these people. They want a world where Fred Flintstone was real.
I want to hear people take a stand against blind belief and take a stand for reality, especially in my representatives. I supported Brian Sims with his election and it was money well spent.