In a recent interview, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) said she has eight Republican votes: five who will support HR 8404, the oxymoronic “Respect for Marriage Act,” and three more who quietly told her they will probably support it, but she is keeping their identity secret.

We need to urgently reach out to every member of the Senate to demand they oppose this bill. Democrats have set a vote in just three business days, which could happen as early as Monday, September 19, or certainly next week.

If the U.S. Senate passes HR 8404, it will expand child bride marriages, force states to recognize pedophile “marriage,” along with incestuous, polygamous and same-sex “marriages.”

This bill already passed the House, and now it is our opportunity to stop it. The vote will be very close. Rush urgent faxes to the Senate against HR 8404. — Mat

Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s statement during a recent interview that she may have up to eight Republican votes is very believable.

This means to pass HR 8404, only two more senators are needed to pass the bill! We knew four Republicans have signed on to pass HR 8404 and 16 were undeclared. One of those has now expressed opposition based on our messaging. Sixty votes are needed, and there are between 54 to 58 votes now in support of HR 8404.

This vote is expected soon and will be very close. Too close for such a bill that has such momentous consequences.

Every senator must hear from you. WE NEED YOUR VOICE to send a strong message NOW because Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is pushing for a vote very soon. STOP HR 8404 from becoming law with your urgent faxes to the Senate.

For Pennie, this was not a policy or political issue. This was personal. She was a beautiful 14-year-old girl who was “assigned to marry a 58-year-old man with five other wives and somewhere around 70 children.”

She was given 24 hours to prepare, and she spent that time begging the people in her life to not force her to marry this man. Her pleas fell on deaf ears, so she just fled out the door.

They didn’t even bother to follow her. There was no public transportation, and the police were even in cahoots with this local polygamist sect.

But God was with her that night. She “kept to the night’s shadows, flattened herself against walls when necessary, and actually made it to the road out of town.” Pennie crossed paths with a businessman who unexpectedly was driving the back roads. He saw a “bedraggled, oddly dressed girl” who was hitchhiking.

Her story moved him so much that he risked going to jail for transporting a runaway minor across state lines. He gave Pennie all the money in his wallet and told her to “have a good life” … and that’s just what she did.

In Utah, men are not afraid of being caught in polygamy. Graydon Henderson openly lives with five wives and 21 children just south of Salt Lake City. “I'm not a bit afraid of the law,” he declared to a reporter. “It's not even worth worrying about.” Even though he admits he doesn’t know why polygamy is not being prosecuted.

Pennie’s story of hope is the exception, not the rule, in these communities. How sad is it that this is happening to young girls at all! They should not be forced to “escape” but should be intrinsically protected by our nation’s laws!

Yet Sen. Schumer is rushing to push legislation that will continue, and even strengthen the cycle of abuse that Pennie narrowly escaped.

The bill will have devastating consequences! We must stop HR 8404 now. Sen. Schumer has invoked Rule 14, which means he can rush the bill to the floor without one Senate committee hearing. Send your urgent faxes to the U.S. Senate today to oppose this outrageous bill.

Make no mistake about where this bill will end up. The goal is to abolish marriage by deconstructing it.

HR 8404 will also open the door to polygamy. Even Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Susan Collins (R-ME), who support HR 8404, said they will propose an amendment to get more Republicans on board because they now admit a “drafting error” opens the door to polygamy. This was no “drafting error.” It was intentional.

When this bill passed the House, 47 Republicans voted for it. But now, our staff is hearing that some already regret their vote. Now that the bill is in the Senate, we need to urge every lawmaker to block it.

All of our senators MUST hear from you now.

Help us block HR 8404 with your urgent faxes right now to educate our Senators on the importance of stopping this legislation.

Right now, Sen Mike Lee (R-UT) is planning to introduce a religious freedom amendment to HR 8404. This will be a game changer for the vote count.

On the one hand, this may mean more Republican votes for the bill. On the other hand, many Democrats, and especially their special interest groups, are so virulently antireligious that such a religious exemption amendment could make them drop their support for this bill. It could become a poison pill for them.

Sens. Baldwin and Collins are working together to scrape up a few more Republican votes. If they succeed, this bill will pass. We must not let them succeed. The consequences are enormous.

The next few days will be huge to make or break this bill. But, even if they do not have the votes next week, this bill will come back again and again until the new Congress is seated in January 2023.

And our staff is right in the middle of this now, educating legislators and staff, creating talking points, raising concerns and looking out for the best interests of our nation.

Join us and raise your voice, educate your friends and support our ministry. You can support us through a recurring monthly gift or a one-time donation. Act now to DOUBLE your impact through our Challenge Grant.

We appreciate your prayers.

Mat Staver, Chairman
Liberty Counsel Action

P.S. 

Make sure your voice is heard on Capitol Hill. Send your faxes today.

Then DOUBLE the impact of your gift through our Challenge Grant.

And sign our petition.

Sources:

“H.R. 8404—Respect for Marriage Act.” House of Representatives Committee on Rules. July 18, 2022. Rules.house.gov/bill/117/hr-8404.

“10 Polygamist Wives Who Escaped Unbelievable Abuse.” Listverse, April 19, 2014. Listverse.com/2014/04/19/10-polygamist-wives-who-escaped-unbelievable-abuse/.