Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I honor a great man, public servant, and Vista Heights Middle School's head custodian, Roger Morgan, from Saratoga Springs, Utah.

When COVID-19 disrupted normalcy last year, Roger did what he always does: He anticipated the needs of others and sprang into action.

He installed plexiglass and hand-sanitizing stations. He stayed late each night to disinfect the entire school. During the summer, he cleaned out the air vents to increase filtration.

He was proactive and diligent in filling PPE from district, State, and school funds. As shipments arrived, he organized and distributed the supplies.

When the State of Utah requested a rapid testing site at Vista Heights, Roger worked overtime to set it up and cleaned the units every day to help facilitate the accessibility of this testing option.

The praise for Roger is overwhelming. He is a team player, and he represents the Fourth District's spirit of service and compassion.

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Roger, District Four's first hometown hero.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 8 and H.R. 1446.

In this last week I received over 1,000 emails from constituents in strong opposition to these antigun bills. Here is a sample:

``H.R. 8 will make it impossible to sell or loan guns to my relatives and trusted friends.''

``These bills appear designed to impose restrictions on natural rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.''

And finally, ``Stand for our rights and oppose these measures with every tool in your grasp.''

I absolutely will fight these measures with every tool in my grasp. These rights protect my life, liberty, and property granted to me by God and cannot be taken away from me by D.C. bureaucrats.

I grew up in the Deep South at a time when Black Americans were unable to defend themselves. After the Civil War, Black Codes and Jim Crow laws prohibited people of color from owning firearms.

In the mid-1950s, Martin Luther King, Jr., kept firearms for self- protection, but his application for a concealed weapon permit was denied because of racist gun control laws in his State.

As a child, my dad witnessed an altercation between his father and a southern White man who thought my grandfather was being disrespectful and threatened to teach him a lesson. Later that night he drove up to my grandfather's home with a bunch of his friends standing on the forerunner of a Model T Ford.

My grandfather was prepared. He and his brothers had hidden around his front porch. As these bullies and cowards approached the house, they heard the click of rifles and left just as fast as they came.

Without ever firing his gun on another human being, my grandfather's right to own a firearm ensured his rights to protect his life, liberty, and property.

I urge my colleagues to vote against these anti-Second Amendment bills.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to call up H.R. 682, the Reopen Schools Act, to get our kids out from behind screens and back in the classroom.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 1280.

I spent the last week talking to law enforcement officers in Utah. These men and women are heroes. They are good, honest officers who risk their lives every day to keep us safe.

I asked them about H.R. 1280, and this is what they said:

``This will destroy public safety.''

``We haven't done anything to earn this type of distrust.''

``This will push good law enforcement out of the business.''

``Utah is an amazing place. We have the right people protecting us. Let's keep them here.''

Mr. Speaker, police reform is necessary. We need to give officers the tools they need to fairly enforce the law. But this legislation paints a target on the back of every police officer in America.

In Salt Lake City, we saw a 38 percent increase in homicides. At the same time, Salt Lake cut $5.3 million from the police department's budget. It should be no surprise that voluntary resignations doubled. This bill will make good officers flee the profession when we need them most.

Mr. Speaker, Democrats won't say this, but this bill simply defunds the police. Not in Utah's Fourth District; not now; not ever.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the Equality Act.

The issues discussed as part of the Equality Act are important. Amending the Civil Rights Act to include sexual orientation would be a historic step. Unfortunately, without explicit religious exemptions, there are many questions that will arise.

Title II of the Civil Rights Act currently prohibits discrimination in places of public accommodation on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin.

The Equality Act would dramatically expand the definition of public accommodation to include any place of public gathering or any establishment that provides a service, such as food banks or homeless shelters.

Every religion and faith in America has had its own set of beliefs. Some of these, including Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, are thousands of years old and answer to a much higher power.

My personal faith, as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, teaches me that every individual is a child of God and deserves to be treated with love and respect.

My religion also teaches that marriage is sacred and eternal in nature. The marriage ceremonies conducted in the sacred places of my faith are conducted in temples that must not be deemed places of public accommodation.

If houses of worship are defined as places of public accommodation, a number of problems arise, many having nothing to do with LGBT rights.

For example, could an orthodox Jewish synagogue decline to permit an interfaith couple from having their wedding ceremony in the synagogue?

Could a traditional mosque conduct gender-segregated classes for youth programs?

Could a Catholic church's homeless shelter have separate housing for men and women?

Could BYU or other church-owned universities continue hiring those individuals who follow its standards?

Democrats claim the purpose of introducing the Equality Act is not to impede religious freedom. In fact, Democrats claim that the existing laws are enough to protect religious freedom.

But why, then, leave these crucial matters unclear and threaten people of faith?

Why not accept an amendment to the Equality Act that clearly exempts religious organizations?

Why remove the protections of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act?

The First Amendment right to practice our faith is at the core of our Nation's culture. Our moral compass of service, tolerance, kindness, and charity stems from our Judeo-Christian foundation. No law should take us down the slippery slope of forgetting this legacy, regardless of its title.

When Congress wants to protect religious expressions, it knows how to do so. The last major civil rights law enacted by Congress was the Americans with Disabilities Act. It contains a clear and explicit religious exemption.

Why not make the law clear to promote civil rights and religious liberty?

That would be the historic and unifying thing to do.