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Sam Brownback on Families & Children
Republican Sr Senator (KS)
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Get back to the basics: life, family, & faith
I think we, as a country, have got to get back to the basics. And I think we have wandered away from it. And until we get back to the basics, we’re not going to be able to grow and prosper. And to me those basics are: life--that every life is sacred, bea
Source: 2007 GOP Values Voter Presidential Debate
, Sep 17, 2007
Rebuilding the family solves problems of education & crime
It is important that the Republican party stand for family values. We need to rebuild the family in this country. I think we need to be clear about our efforts and willingness to do that. And if we’re going to solve problems of education, crime, what’s
taking place in some of our areas where we’re not getting the growth, we’ve got to rebuild the family. That’s at the core of what we need to do. We should be bolder about standing up for family. Family’s important for us, and it’s important for America.
Source: 2007 GOP debate at UNH, sponsored by Fox News
, Sep 5, 2007
FactCheck:No 80% illegitimacy in countries with gay marriage
Brownback said, “In countries that have redefined marriage, where they’ve said, okay, it’s not just a man and a woman, it can be two men, two women, the marriage rates in those countries have plummeted to where you have counties now in Northern Europe
where 80% of the first-born children are born out of wedlock.”This sentence has so many problems it’s hard to know where to begin. We confirmed that two Norwegian counties, Nordland and Nord-Troendelag, have an out-of-wedlock birthrate in excess of
80%. But Norway doesn’t have legalized gay marriage, so Brownback’s use of Norwegian statistics to argue his point is illogical and misleading.
The Netherlands and Belgium are the only Northern European countries that do, enacted in 2001 and
2003, respectively. The Netherlands’ rate of out-of-wedlock births is much higher than it was a decade ago, but in 2005 the rate was only about 35%. In Belgium, unmarried birth rates have been climbing since the mid-1970s.
Source: FactCheck on 2007 GOP debate at UNH
, Sep 5, 2007
Highest priority is rebuilding the family
Q: What will you restore to the Oval Office?A: Rebuilding the family. You know, in Washington DC, right now, 63% of the children are born out of wedlock. Nationwide, the number is 36%. You can raise a good child in that setting,
but it gets more difficult. The best place is between a mom and a dad bonded together for life. I would stand for life. And I would appoint the next justice I hope would be the voting decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Source: 2007 GOP Iowa Straw Poll debate
, Aug 5, 2007
Adoption is a blessing that re-centers entire family
There's an important aspect of family formation that I want to mention, and that's the blessing of adoption. Our family has been blessed by it, although there was a moment when our older children didn't see it that way. Mary and I had 3 children--Abby,
Andy and Elizabeth--when we decided to adopt Mark and Jenna. When we talked to the older children about the idea, they were initially opposed. They liked our family the way it was. That lasted about a day when we adopted Mark.
They fell in love with him right away. Mark & Jenna recentered our family. There are so many forces in society that are centrifugal, that tend to pull the family in different directions, but these two children have helped to restore our family focus.
Mary and I both felt a deep calling to adopt, and we made arrangements to adopt Mark in Guatemala and Jenna in China. I highly recommend it to everybody interested. A child is a precious gift, and an adopted child is a gift to the entire family.
Source: From Power to Purpose, by Sam Brownback, p. 88-9
, Jul 3, 2007
Supports "culture czar" to expose kids to national values
[In the 1990s Senate, I tried] organizing a bipartisan, bicameral commission to deal with cultural concerns. To some people that apparently sounded as though I was pushing for a "culture czar" or a "secretary of culture," and they didn't like that idea;
ultimately the issue failed. The collapse of the traditional culture was our main concern, and the loss of a moral standard was clearly one of the biggest problems we faced as a society.If children are not properly educated in the values of the nation
and the common culture, then they are vulnerable to being misinformed and misled. We need to make sure that all Americans in every generation learn about the history and culture that has contributed to America's greatness. We all need to understand that
without a personal commitment to goodness, no nation can long survive. And sometimes that means crossing fences and mending fences, to join hands with those whose view of the American experience may be vastly different from our own.
Source: From Power to Purpose, by Sam Brownback, p. 96-7
, Jul 3, 2007
Drive pornography out via action on community standards
I am concerned about the epidemic of pornography in contemporary culture. As long as they can cast it as a "free speech" issue, lawyers have been able to protect their turf through the courts. When it can be shown that this is really an issue of
community standards, it's a different story. Communities have the constitutional ability to limit the pornography sold in their communities. This is the place to start. We have to go after pornography at the local level.
We need active local groups to take up the fight to drive pornography out of town.
This is a human tragedy because of its impact on families--divorces, individuals whose lives have been shattered by it, and thousands if not millions of men who can't
free themselves from the addiction. It's targeted and pernicious. It's well known that with any illicit drug, the user has to have more and more to get the same level of euphoria, and pornography is the same.
Source: From Power to Purpose, by Sam Brownback, p.110-2
, Jul 3, 2007
Mail-order brides are a form of human sex trafficking
Trafficking and sexual slavery are still an enormous problem, although more nations are beginning to deal with it. There's a direct link between human trafficking and the so-called "sex tours" to parts of Asia. This involves the sexual exploitation of
both boys and girls. It involves fake "mail-order brides" who are bought and sold as sex objects and, in many cases, as sex slaves. There are people who've tried to defend this practice, saying that there's a long-standing historical basis for arranging
brides from other countries. We're trying to limit the practice now, particularly as we've found evidence that some of the male clients have been ordering 3 or 4 brides a year. We invited a couple of women who had been mail-order brides to come in and
testify for a committee hearing, and we discovered that most of these women are abused in very disturbing ways. Yet the practice is still going on, and there doesn't seem to be any lack of women who are willing to take the risk.
Source: From Power to Purpose, by Sam Brownback, p.121-2
, Jul 3, 2007
Greatness depends on our communities more than our Capitol
Our greatness as a nation depends more on what happens in America’s communities than in America’s Capitol. What goes on in our families, churches, schools, and neighborhoods is a far more important indicator of our national character and civil health
than what goes on in the corridors of Congress. Congress reflects America. Communities make America. The march for reform through our cultural institutions will be a long march; no quick fix will do, no shortcuts exist. Reform of our cultural
institutions cannot and does not occur without dedicated reformers, energized social movements, strategic plans, and a coherent philosophy.
Appealing to conscience and reason takes time, patience, and persistence, and offers few short-term political benefits. But it is the best way to keep citizens involved, society civil, and our culture healthy.
Source: Building a Healthy Culture, Don Eberly, ed., p. xiv
, Jun 3, 2001
Voted YES on killing restrictions on violent videos to minors.
Vote to kill an amendment that would prohibit the distribution of violent video programming to the public during hours when children are reasonably likely to comprise a substantial portion of the audience. Voting YES would kill the amendment proposing the new restrictions. Voting NO would suport the amendment proposing the new restrictions.
Reference:
Bill S.254
; vote number 1999-114
on May 13, 1999
Rated 100% by the Christian Coalition: a pro-Family-Value voting record.
Brownback scores 100% by the Christian Coalition on family issues
The Christian Coalition was founded in 1989 by Dr. Pat Robertson to give Christians a voice in government. We represent millions of people of faith and enable them to have a strong, unified voice in the conversation we call democracy.
Our Five-Fold Mission: - Represent the pro-family point of view before local councils, school boards, state legislatures, and Congress
- Speak out in the public arena and in the media
- Train leaders for effective social and political action
- Inform pro-family voters about timely issues and legislation
- Protest anti-Christian bigotry and defend the rights of people of faith.
Our ratings are based on the votes the organization considered most important; the numbers reflect the percentage of time the representative voted the organization's preferred position.
Source: CC website 03n-CC on Dec 31, 2003
Page last updated: Jul 26, 2017