1. United States
2. Wisc.
3. Letter

Representative Fitzgerald, You and I both served this country and took and oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America from all enemies, foreign and domestic. Right now there is a bill working its way through the House of Representatives that seeks to decimate the First Amendment, in spirit and truth. H.R. 59 is a clear violation of the restriction on Congress to not interfere with the free practice of religion; at no point should Congress, the President, or any member of the US government be telling religious leaders, especially Christian religious leaders, what to say or not to say, even if they try to do so indirectly by "condemning" a message of mercy and peace. As your constituent and a fellow veteran, as well as a Christian, I demand that you immediately communicate with your colleagues on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that passing that bill would be abhorrent and anti-American, and that your constituents will not stand for it. If there is any problem with political use of the pulpit, the *ONLY* thing the US government is allowed to do under the Constitution is to revoke the tax exempt status of the organization responsible, not dictate what can be said from the pulpit. I know that you will try to weasel your way out of this by saying you don't sit on that committee, but surprisingly, I'm well aware that you are capable of moving yourself physically to the offices of your colleagues to speak with them, and that is what I expect you to do, you know, your actual job that you are getting paid more than most American families make to do. On top of that, I fully expect, after the anti-American agents on that committee pass it to a floor vote, that you will not only vote against it, but make an impassioned speech about freedom of speech and freedom of religion in front of your colleagues and the world on the House floor to explain why it is an unacceptable move by the US Government. You ran on small government; small government does not tell pastors what to preach. Live up to your oath.