Published on Jul 26, 2012 by RepTrentFranks
In a Constitution Subcommittee hearing
yesterday, Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02) questioned Assistant
Attorney General, Thomas Perez, over the Administration's commitment to
1st Amendment rights. Franks' questions were prompted by a Daily Caller
article from late last year in which Perez was quoted as warmly
embracing the proposals of Islamist advocates in a meeting at George
Washington University, among them a request for "a legal declaration
that U.S. citizens' criticism of Islam constitutes racial
discrimination."
Perez reportedly ended the meeting with an
enthusiastic closing speech and was quoted as saying, "I sat here the
entire time, taking notes...I have some very concrete thoughts ... in
the aftermath of this."
In yesterday's hearing, Chairman Franks
asked Perez to affirm that the Administration would "never entertain or
advance a proposal that criminalizes speech against any religion?" Perez
refused.