Defending Free Speech Leaves Top Obama Department of Justice Official Speechless

By Andrew E. Harrod

Republican Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02) has posted a revealing YouTube segment of his questioning of Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Thomas Perez in the House of Representatives on July 26, 2012. Franks repeatedly asked Perez whether the Obama administration's Department of Justice "will never entertain or advance a proposal that criminalizes speech against any religion." Rather than expressing a clear opposition to any such proposal contravening the free speech principles enshrined in the American Constitution's First Amendment, Perez continually asked for contextual clarification of the question and specific examples of policy proposals that he could "actively review." Perez's less than resounding defense of American first principles and freedoms is troubling in light of the Obama administration's overtures towards the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a 57-member (including, somewhat dubiously, Palestine) international grouping of Muslim-majority states. In particular, the Obama administration supports implementation of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC)'s Resolution 16/18 within the framework of the Istanbul Process, begun at an international July 15, 2011, conference hosted in.... (Read Full Article)