The media has been calling last night’s Democratic sit-in a “revolt.” And people were revolted all right. A little over a week after the worst U.S. terror attack since 9/11, House Democrats seem intent on helping radical Islam carry out another one. When liberals spend hours derailing House business to force a debate on gun control, they aren’t preventing another massacre like Orlando’s. They’re creating the division — and diversion — radical Islamists need to plot another assault.

House Democrats should be angry about what happened to 49 innocent Americans. So should Republicans. But their outrage shouldn’t be directed at each other or gun policy — it should be directed at our enemies. Unfortunately for our nation, the president’s party doesn’t grasp who that enemy is. As Jim Geraghty pointed out in National Review, “Two and a half years after his ‘JV’ comment, there’s painfully little evidence that Obama understands any of this better than he did then. How many more of our citizens must die before he gets it?” Instead, they’re wasting precious legislative time blaming Christians or assault rifles for the shooting, while the real crisis gets worse. As a frustrated Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) called out, pointing at the pictures of the Orlando victims, “Radical Islam killed these people!”

Hate is the weapon here — guns are just an instrument of it. And yet, in this desperate attempt to score political points, House Democrats are willing to put American lives at risk while they lie about their real agenda. They want a debate on guns instead of the radicals killing us! And guess who that benefits? The terrorists. Every minute the House wastes talking about AR-15s or intolerance towards Muslims is a minute Congress could be spending overhauling our homeland security policy. Right now, more than a half million foreign nationals are living here on expired visas, unvetted refugees are streaming through our borders, and what’s the Left’s solution? Gumming up the process for an agenda that will only prevent honest Americans from protecting themselves.

Criminals won’t be deterred by gun laws — any more than they’re deterred by any law. This is all just part of a broader effort by the Obama administration to ignore what really happened in Florida and turn it into an opportunity to talk about people who believe in God and guns. In the meantime, thousands of military veterans were left hanging, waiting for members to finish VA and Financial Services bills that were shoved aside for the Democrats’ selfish PR. “This is nothing more than a publicity stunt,” Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) argued. “This is not about a solution to a problem. This is about trying to get attention.” And Democrats are not above exploiting 49 Americans’ deaths to do it. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) insisted Ryan’s comments were “disrespectful to the nation.”

No, what’s disrespectful is distracting from the real threat while you peddle a completely unrelated agenda. Now, while ISIS celebrates, Congress is too busy fighting with itself to unite behind a plan to defeat the enemy. No wonder radical Muslims feel empowered. Liberals are creating the diversion for them! And with some exceptions, Republicans are facilitating it. Despite controlling the floor, the GOP is letting Democrats control the conversation.

As the president’s party sits and spins, it’s time for the GOP to acknowledge the truth that Democrats won’t: America is at war with radical Islam. The threat is not citizens who own guns or those who believe in God and biblical morality. And unless the Left calls curtains on its political theater and starts caring more about our country than their campaigns, Orlando will be just the second act in an ongoing tragedy that will play out across America.

Originally published here.

California Steamin’: HHS Gives Abortion Rule a Pass

The Obama administration is too busy violating the law to punish others for doing the same! Unfortunately, Californians are bearing the brunt of that problem in its battle over taxpayer-funded abortion. Since 2014, the Golden State’s health department has been strong-arming employers into funding the killing of innocent unborn children through their local insurance exchange. Instead of exempting churches and others with strong religious convictions, California is forcing them to finance a dark business in direct defiance of their faith!

While the state’s policy is a big violation of federal law, the Obama administration has no interest in enforcing it. That much was made clear this week, when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) responded to complaints from Christian groups in a crisis its mandate helped create. People like FRC Watchman Pastor Jack Hibbs fired off letters to HHS arguing that their state was violating a federal law called the Weldon Amendment, which protects health care entities from being punished if they refuse to cover abortion.

After consulting with its Office of Civil Rights, HHS officials waved off the accusations, insisting that California wasn’t guilty of any wrongdoing. In this case, the Obama team (the same one that’s been hauled into court for forcing Catholic Nuns and other religious groups to swallow their religious objections over similar coverage) did what it always does: rewrote the law to suit its agenda. Instead of reading the plain language of the Amendment, the Office of Civil Rights took great liberties with the Weldon amendment text so that they can let California off the hook for steamrolling pro-lifers. HHS argued that the Weldon amendment doesn’t apply to employers or individuals — only “health care entities.”

But the actual language begs to differ. It says funds cannot be made available to governments (including states) that subject a health care entity (including health care plans) to discrimination on the basis that they do not provide coverage for abortion. Our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom are representing some of the churches in their fight against the state and its HHS apologists. As attorney Casey Mattox says:

“The Obama administration is once again making a mockery of the law, and this time in the most unimaginable way. Churches should never be forced to cover elective abortion in their insurance plans, and for ten years the Weldon Amendment has protected the right to have plans that do not include coverage for abortion-on-demand. But the state of California has ordered every insurer, even those insuring churches, to cover elective abortions in blatant violation of the law. The Obama administration’s refusal to enforce this law continues its pattern of enforcing laws it wants to enforce, refusing to enforce others, and inventing new interpretations of others out of whole cloth. We will continue to defend churches from this clear violation of the First Amendment and federal law and call on Congress to hold the Department of Health and Human Services accountable.”

If the Obama administration continues to play the crooked referee, then Mattox is right. It’s time for the House and Senate to step in and defend these Californians’ rights. Fortunately for us, there’s a bill designed to do exactly that in Rep. John Fleming’s (R-La.) Conscience Protection Act (H.R. 4828). “Today’s decision, perhaps more than ever, reveals why Congress must act immediately to pass my bill,” Fleming told reporters. “The administration is hell bent on forcing Americans to accept, without recourse, their worldview — and it’s time to push back on these brazen attacks to liberty.” You can help! Contact your representative and ask him or her to sponsor H.R. 4828!

Originally published here.