Daily Archives: April 15, 2016

SC Personhood Amendment – Now S.719 Needs ‘Special Order’ Status, which requires 2/3 Senate vote

Published by:

Christians for Personhood ( CP )
Columbia, South Carolina
April 14, 2016

SC Personhood Amendment – Reported to full SC Senate April 13, 2016;

Placed on full Senate Calendar April 14, 2016 – but S.719 is the 57th bill listed under ‘Statewide Second Reading Bills’.

Now S.719 Needs ‘Special Order’ Status, which requires 2/3 Senate vote

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The good news is that for the first time, S.719 is on the Senate Calendar.  The bad news is that:

1) S.719 is contested by two pro-‘abortion’ Senators ( Hutto , Bright Matthews ), and;

2) S.719 is the 57th bill listed on the Senate Calendar under ‘Statewide Second Reading Bills’.

The remedy for this challenging situation is to lobby the SC Senators to give S.719 what is known as ‘Special Order’, which moves it up to the front of the calendar.  It takes a 2/3 vote of Senators present and voting to be given Special Order.  If all 45 Senators are present ( 27 R, 18 D ), that means 30 votes are required.  If one or more Senators are absent or decide to abstain, that would lower the number of votes needed to attain the 2/3 threshold.

Since the there are 27 members of the Republican Caucus in the SC Senate, they have great influence over what bills are given Special Order when they vote as a consensus block.  There are only three ‘Special Order’ slots available on the calendar, however at least one is known to be open right now at the present time.  We want the 27 Senate Republicans to first agree within the Republican Senate Caucus, and then quickly vote on the Senate floor, to give S.719 SC Personhood Constitutional Amendment ‘Special Order’.

Next Tuesday,  April 19, at  11AM,  the  Republican Senate Caucus meets in Room 209, Gressette Senate Building, and will likely consider the matter of what bill to give the one known open ‘Special Order’ slot.  So we have between now and then to call and e-mail the 27 Senate Republicans urging them to agree to give S.719 ‘Special Order’ status when they meet April 19, and then to quickly actually move and vote to do so on the floor of the SC Senate.

There are in fact competing bills which various parties wish to obtain ‘Special Order’.

We need to bring a Christian witness of advocacy for giving S.719 SC Personhood Constitutional Amendment ‘Special Order’ between now and next Tuesday to:

1) The new Senate Majority ( Republican ) Leader, Senator Shane Massey ( R – Aiken, Edgefield, Lexington, McCormick & Saluda ) and;

2) The rest of the Republican Senators statewide in SC ( 27 Republicans total in SC Senate ).

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Contact information for all SC Senators is here: 
http://www.scstatehouse.gov/member.php?chamber=S

You may call BOTH the Republican Senators’ Gressette Building phone number and their home/business phone numbers, whatever numbers the Senator has listed in his/her contact information.

You may also e-mail them through the SC Legislature website.  E-mail pages are also available for each Senator individually here.

Please ask the Republican Senators words to this effect:

          “In the next Republican Senate Caucus meeting April 19, please advocate giving the open ‘Special Order’ slot to S.719 SC Personhood Constitutional Amendment , and then voting  ‘Special Order’ for S.719 quickly on the Senate floor.”

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Republican Members of the SC Senate
(Quick Find)

Thomas C. Alexander

Sean Bennett

Lee Bright

Kevin L. Bryant

Paul G. Campbell, Jr.

George E. “Chip” Campsen, III

Raymond E. Cleary, III

Thomas D. “Tom” Corbin

John E. Courson

Ronnie W. Cromer

Tom Davis

Michael L. Fair

Chauncey K. Gregory

Lawrence K. “Larry” Grooms

Robert W. Hayes, Jr.

Greg Hembree

Hugh K. Leatherman, Sr.

Larry A. Martin

Shane R. Martin

A. Shane Massey

Harvey S. Peeler, Jr.

Luke A. Rankin

Katrina Frye Shealy

Paul Thurmond

Ross Turner

Daniel B. “Danny” Verdin, III

Tom Young, Jr.

GLORY TO GOD ! SC Personhood Amendment passed favorably on 11 – 5 vote by SC Senate Judiciary Committee – April 12, 2016

Published by:

Christians for Personhood ( CP )
Columbia, South Carolina
April 12, 2016 / Edited April 13, 2016

GLORY TO GOD !

SC Personhood Amendment passed favorably on 11 – 5 vote by SC Senate Judiciary Committee – April 12, 2016 ( Audio )  

“… with God all things are possible.”  Matthew 19:26, KJV

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The SC Personhood Constitutional Amendment S.719 has favorably passed the SC Senate Judiciary Committee ( 13 R, 9 D ) by a vote of 11 – 5 on April 12, 2016.

Praise the Lord“For with God nothing shall be impossible.”  Luke 1:37, KJV

S.719 SC Personhood Constitutional Amendment sponsor, Senator Lee Bright ( R-Greenville, Spartanburg ) did a commendable job explaining S.719, and defending S.719 in response to questions by one Republican Senator and several Democrat Senators ( audio posted here ).  Senator Bright’s diligence in his remarks to repeatedly
 return the focus of the discussion to the purpose of the constitutional amendment in establishing personhood and due process for unborn children was excellent, admirable, and vital.


Notes: 1) Archived video of entire April 12 Senate Judiciary Committee meeting including the S.719 debate and 11 – 5 vote is posted here on the SC Legislature website.

             2) Regarding Senator Bright’s explanations of the technical Amendment; the original version of S.719 as introduced on April 28, 2015 only addressed the right to life and not property rights. 
Likewise, the statutory bill ‘Personhood Act of South Carolina’ S.457 considered during two Senate Judiciary Subcommittee public hearings in 2014, also only addressed the right to life and not property rights.

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Click image for larger view.

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Photo below:  SC Senate Judiciary Committee Senators voting for favorable passage of S.719 ( 11 votes )



Voting Yes to favorable passage of S.719 ( 11 votes ) ( listing from front row to back, left to right )
Front row:  Senator Tom Young ( R )
Second row:  Senators Tom Corbin ( R ), Greg Gregory ( R ), Sean Bennett ( R ), Greg Hembree ( R ), Katrina Shealy ( R )
Back row:  Senators Lee Bright ( R ),  Luke Rankin ( R ), Larry Martin ( R ), Shane Massey ( R )
One proxy vote:  Senator Ross Turner ( R )

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Photo below:  SC Senate Judiciary Committee vote against favorable passage of S.719 ( 5 votes )

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Click image for larger view.



Voting No to favorable passage of S.719 ( 5 votes ) ( listing from front row to back, left to right )
Front row:  Senators Ronnie Sabb ( D ), Margie Bright Matthews ( D )
Second row:  Senator Kevin Johnson ( D )
Back row:  Senators Creighton Coleman ( D ), Brad Hutto ( D )

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This is both the first time the SC Senate Judiciary Committee has ever taken up Personhood legislation for debate, and so of course also the first time that it has passed the full Judiciary Committee.  When S.719 passed a Judiciary Subcommmittee chaired by S.719 primary sponsor, Senator Lee Bright ( R-Greenville, Spartanburg ) on March 17, that was the first time Personhood legislation had been favorably passed by a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee.

Now S.719 will actually be placed on the Calendar of the full South Carolina Senate.

However because 1) the legislation is contested by some pro-“abortion” Senators, and 2) because there is a May 1st deadline under regular procedures for legislation to crossover from one chamber to another, time is of the essence.  S.719 will need to be voted by the SC Senate to be given “Special Order”.  It takes 2/3 of the Senators present and voting for a bill to be given Special Order.

This report is an initial report.  Lord willing, future reporting will have more information and detail, including archived video which should be posted here of today’s entire April 12 Senate Judiciary Committee meeting including the S.719 debate and 11 – 5 vote on the SC Legislature website.

However, the immediate main points going forward are that:

     1) May 1st is the deadline for passage of S.719 by the SC Senate under regular procedures, and;

     2) The next goal is to lobby all 45 SC Senators ( 27 Republican, 18 Democrat, 1 vacancy ) for their commitment to support “Special Order” for S.719.  We need a 2/3 vote of those Senators present and voting for S.719  to receive Special Order.

Contact information for all SC Senators is here: 
http://www.scstatehouse.gov/member.php?chamber=S

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“The king’s heart is in the Hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water:
He turneth it whithersoever He will.”
Proverb 21:1, KJV ( with deity capitalized )

“… with God all things are possible.”  Matthew 19:26, KJV

In Christ,

Steve Lefemine
Christians for Personhood

PO Box 12222
Columbia, SC 29211