Democrats introduce bill to oppose Trump’s proposed Muslim immigration ban
“Beyer said the legislation is an attempt to ‘appeal to hope rather than fear.’” In our pusillanimous and puerile age, “fear” is not just a weakness of character, but a moral flaw: if you fear being beheaded or blown up by Islamic jihadists, you’re an evil person. And to be sure, fear is never to be encouraged or given into, but its opposite is not hope, it’s courage and resoluteness.
Beyer is not offering courage or resoluteness. He is proposing a ban on using someone’s religion as a reason for blocking them from entering the country based on the politically correct fiction that Islamic jihad terrorism has nothing to do with Islam, and that therefore to be concerned about jihad terrorists entering the country along with peaceful Muslim refugees is simply a manifestation of bigotry, racism and “Islamophobia.”
What Beyer is offering is “hope” and a rejection of “fear.” We should “hope” that there will be no jihadis among the immigrants. We should “hope” that there will not be another jihad attack a la San Bernardino perpetrated by another refugee like Tashfeen Malik, the San Bernardino jihad murderer who had passed five separate background checks from five separate U.S. government agencies. We should “hope” that the Islamic State will not make good on its threat to send jihadis into Europe and North America among the refugees. We should “hope” that we can continue to pursue self-destructive and suicidal policies without suffering any negative consequences.
To reject all of Beyer’s “hopes” would be, in his view, to succumb to “fear,” and remember: fear is morally wrong.
Rep. Don Beyer, D-Virginia
“Democrats Introduce Bill That Would Oppose Trump’s Proposed Immigration Ban on Eve of His Capitol Hill Visit,” by Margaret Chadbourn, ABC News, May 11, 2016:
A group of Democrats on Capitol Hill are using Donald Trump’s visit to Washington this week to highlight their opposition to the presumptive Republican nominee’s immigration policies, including his past calls to ban Muslims from coming to the United States.
On Wednesday, they introduced legislation, which is just one paragraph, that would restrict the United States from using someone’s religion as a reason for blocking them from entering the country. The new bill, known as the Freedom of Religion Act, would do so by keeping religious tests out of the immigration process.
“It’s very narrow in scope. We’re not going to discriminate when it comes to immigration based on religion,” Rep. Don Beyer, D-Virginia, who authored the bill, told ABC News.
Following the December shootings in San Bernardino, California, Trump called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States “until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.” His comments were condemned by Democrats and Republican congressional leaders, but he has not backed down on this stance.
Beyer said the legislation is an attempt to “appeal to hope rather than fear.”
The bill has little chance of advancing in the Republican-controlled House, but Democrats say that’s not the point. “At the very least, having the bill out there gives encouragement out there to Americans that Donald Trump’s ideas are not ruling the day on this issue,” Beyer said. “We’re pushing back with a strong, clear voice.”
Trump will hold high-profile meetings in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, including with House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, who is so far withholding his support for Trump, saying he wants learn more about how the candidate will unite the party after a divisive primary.
Democrats don’t want to let his visit go to waste and are trying leverage the attention surrounding the trip to score some political points.
“We didn’t plan it based on his visit but I think it is a coincidence is a fortuitous one,” Beyer said….
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