By M.H. Cavanaugh
Christian Action League
September 18, 2020
In a time when America has moved far from its Christian heritage, blatantly evident today is the woeful illiteracy of government’s God-given purpose. Christian principles for the state require its primary objective should be to secure justice for all.
Justice, according to the Scriptures, is the right of every person to life, liberty, and property. To be robbed of any of these is undoubtedly an injustice, which the government must work to prevent. In other words, more than anything else, if not to the exclusion of everything else, this is the state’s calling from Almighty God.
The apostle Paul stated the principle in Romans 13:4, which reads:
“For government is God’s servant to you for good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For government is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong.”
Therefore, fundamental to the government’s role is law enforcement. Citizens need sufficient police forces to effectively combat criminal activity that would deny them their God-given rights to life, liberty, and property.
This week, House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland), along with several law enforcement leaders, spoke out in opposition to a pledge signed by dozens of elected Democratic officials and candidates. Moore told the press, “Law enforcement officers across our nation, in our state, are being targeted. I consider this pledge, signing this pledge, a direct attack on all those in law enforcement in North Carolina.”
Joining the Speaker in his statement were Harnett County Sheriff Wayne Coats, Craven County Sheriff Chip Hughes, Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page, former Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison, former Pender County Sheriff and now Rep. Carson Smith, former High Point Police Chief and now Rep. John Faircloth, and Chairman Addul Ali of North Carolina Black Conservative Voices.
In an article posted by The Civitas Institute, author Dallas Woodhouse reported on the signing of the pledge by Democrats. Woodhouse wrote:
“Forty-Seven Democratic members of the state House and candidates running to join the Democratic caucus have signed a pledge to defund the police, restrict the ability of law enforcement to obtain basic protective equipment and strip citizens of Second Amendment rights with no due process. The pledge includes ending cash bail and the assignment of court fees and costs, one of which would further return some dangerous criminals back to the streets, the other which would further defund the police by eliminating revenue for police training and police retirement. Eight Democratic state Senate members and candidates also signed the pledge. While not all current Democrat House members signed the pledge, if all 47 of the pledge signers were elected, they would represent 85% of the current 55 Democrat members of the state House.”
The pledge was promoted by the liberal activist group, “Future Now,” a new PAC spending millions on critical legislative races in Arizona, Michigan, Maine, New Hampshire, and North Carolina.
The Center Square, in its reporting on the pledge’s signing, noted that Future Now’s “Community Reinvestment Act, proposes creating a commission to review state and law enforcement agencies’ budgets. The commission would work to ‘generate savings’ to reinvest in youth programs, mental health services, housing, jobs, training and small businesses.”
“‘Communities are safest when all residents have access to education, jobs and opportunities to build their lives – higher education and employment levels are associated with lower crime rates,’ the pledge states. ‘Police funding, on the other hand, has been shown to have no connection to crime rates.’”
House Minority Leader, Rep. Darren Jackson (D-Wake), who signed the pledge, said that he and other Democrats who signed it were not pledging to “defund the police.”
Jackson told the media the pledge that he and others signed was signed two years ago before the slogans about defunding the police were an issue. He said the pledge said nothing about defunding the police. He accuses Speaker Moore of lying.
But Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League, said Democrats who signed the pledge to help Future Now achieve their legislative goals, whether knowingly or unknowing, indeed signed onto to a radical agenda when it comes to the police.
“You can’t just sign Future Now’s pledge to help assist them with their legislative goals, take their money to the tune of $100,000 in campaign contributions, and then with any integrity say the Speaker is a liar,” said Creech. “And let me add the media is providing poor reporting on this issue. A little investigative reporting would show that what the Speaker and other law enforcement officers said is the truth. It’s not just politics as usual, as some might think.”
Creech added:
“The problem with Leftists and Liberals, more often than not, is they blame the evil that people do on outside forces. Maybe it was the way someone’s mother or their third-grade teacher treated them, or their poor housing situation, or their need for better education or a job that causes them to rob, rape, and riot. Therefore, they say we need to invest taxpayer monies in these areas, and not in the police. They would take ‘the sword’ that God authorized the state to wield against humankind’s robustly sinful nature and replace it with a youth club membership program, a psychiatrist’s couch, or something meant to lift them out of poverty. These things have their place, but none of it should ever replace or dull the edge of ‘the sword.’ Until the Lord’s redemption of this earth is complete, there will always be evil-doers, and law and order will have to be vigorously enforced for a decent society.
“Policemen are not perfect, but they still do God’s work. And defunding the police, hampering or diminishing their ability to protect our God-given rights effectively, are offenses to the Almighty and injustices to the citizenry.”
Fact Check the Matter Yourself:
Here’s the Pledge: https://www.futurenow.org/pledge/#sign
Note the Section to the pledge that’s titled: “Equal Opportunity for All.”
Go to the landing page for Future Now’s goals and click on “Equal Opportunity for All.” By clicking on “Equal Opportunity for All,” it will open a link to “Improve Public Safety by Reinvesting Policing Savings in Community Based and Prevention Programs.”
Here are the N.C. Democratic House members and candidates who signed the pledge:
Emily Bunch Nicholson – House District 1
Kandie Smith – House District 8
Brian Farkas – House District 9
Rep. Allison Dahle – House District 11
Tom Simmons – House District 17
Rep. Deb Butler – House District 18
Marcia Morgan – House District 19
Rep. Raymond Smith – House District 21
Rep. Shelly Willingham – House District 23
James Gailliard – House District 25
Rep. Marcia Morey – House District 30
Rep. Rosa Gill – House District 33
Rep. Grier Martin – House District 34
Rep. Terence Everitt – House District 35
Rep. Julie von Haefen – House District 36
Rep. Sydney Batch – House District 37
Democratic Leader Rep. Darren Jackson – House District 39
Rep. Gale Adcock – House District 41
Rep. Marvin Lucas – House District 42
Kimberly Hardy – House District 43
Frances Jackson – House District 45
Rep. Graig Meyer – House District 50
Lowell Simon – House District 52
Rep. Verla Insko – House District 56
Rep. Ashton Clemmons – House District 57
Nicole Quick – House District 59
Rep. Pricey Harrison: House District 61
Ricky Hurtado – House District 63
Rep. Evelyn Terry – House District 71
Rep. Dan Besse – House District 74
Wendy Sellars – House District 80
Aimy Steele – House District 82
Gail Young – House District 83
Rep. Mary Belk – House District 88
Greg Cranford – House District 89
Rep. Ray Russell – House District 93
Kim Bost – House District 96
Rep. Christy Clark – House District 98
Rep. Nasif Majeef – House District 99
Rep. Rachel Hunt – House District 103
Rep. Brandon Lofton – House District 104
Rep. Wesley Harris – House District 105
Rep. Carla Cunningham – House District 106
Rep. Kelly Alexander – House District 107
Rep. Susan Fisher – House District 114
Rep. John Ager – House District 115
Rep. Joe Sam Queen – House District 119
Here are the N.C. Senate members and candidates who signed the pledge:
Wiley Nickel
Mike Woodard
Valerie Foushee
Natalie Murdock
Terri LeGrand
Jay Chaudhuri
Paul Lowe
Gladys Robinson