Christians for Personhood
P.O. Box 12222, Columbia, S.C. 29211 * CP@spiritcom.net
God says: “Thou shalt not kill (murder).” Exodus 20:13, KJV
Dec. 29, 2017
PERSONHOOD ACT OF SOUTH CAROLINA
Dear Pro-Life, Pro-Personhood Christians,
The Personhood Act of SC (S.217) favorably passed a five-man SC Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on April 26, 2017 by a vote of 3 Yeas ( Rice, Gambrell, Talley) to 2 Nays ( Bright Matthews, McLeod ). Although S.217 was listed ninth ( Letter I ) on the Agenda of the full Senate Judiciary Committee on May 2, 2017, as S.217 was coming up for deliberation, Judiciary Committee Chairman Senator Luke Rankin (R-Horry) effectively unilaterally “carried over” ( with no vote by the committee members ) another bill and S.217, to take up other bills ( view Senator Rankin’s maneuver at: SC Legislature Video Archives – begin at 1:16:45 ). Then at the very end of the committee meeting, Senator Rankin returned to S.217; however, the meeting had already run overtime, and two Republican Senators supporting S.217 had already left the committee meeting room. So Senator Rice as S.217 lead sponsor, was forced into the necessarily wise decision to move to “carry over” the bill ( SC Legislature Video Archives – see video at 2:06:50 ), which is how regular 2017 Legislative Session work on bills ended for Senator Luke Rankin’s Judiciary Committee.
So Senator Rankin’s Session-long “slow-walk” of the bill ( including assigning pro-“abortion” Democrat Senator Margie Bright Matthews (D-Colleton) to be Subcommittee chairman ! ) was not successful in completely blocking the bill, but was successful in employing another RINO Senate tactic, of delaying the bill, as he had not even assigned the bill to a Judiciary Subcomm. until March 22, 2017, well over two months after S.217 was introduced by then-Senator Kevin Bryant ( now SC Lt Gov ), on the first day of the 2017 Legislative Session, January 10, 2017. This is background for the 2018 SC Legislative Session, which begins January 9, 2018, and ends about four months later, May 10, 2018. The sprint to the end of this 2nd year of the two-year 2017-2018 Legislature means timely Senate action is critical !
With this understanding of the critical importance of timing in 2018, here are some broad benchmarks:
1) NLT Tuesday, January 16, 2018: Favorable Passage of the Personhood Act of SC (S.217) out of the full Senate Judiciary Committee ( presently 13 R, 9 D; should be 14 R, 9 D when Senator Richard Cash added ).
2) NLT Tuesday, January 30, 2018: Assignment of the Personhood Act of SC (S.217) to the Special Order slot ( giving bill higher priority for full Senate floor debate ) of the Senate Rules Committee ( presently 10 R, 7 D).
3) NLT Tuesday, April 10, 2018: “Crossover” deadline to get bills from one Chamber to the other. Passage of the Personhood Act of SC (S.217) with no “exceptions” amendments out of the full SC Senate ( 28 R, 18 D ).
4) NLT Thursday, May 10, 2018: Last day of regular 2018 Legislative Session. Passage of the Personhood Act of SC (S.217 / H.3530 ) with no “exceptions” amendments out of the full SC House ( 77 R, 44 D, 3 vacancies ).
[ Rep. Greg Delleney, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee has repeatedly promised passage in the House. ]
5) Prompt Signing of Bill into SC Code of Laws: SC Governor Henry McMaster
“Please know that I strongly support the Personhood Act (H.3530 and S.217) and look forward to signing it into law.”
– South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, Letter to Dr. Matthew Clark, Personhood South Carolina, Oct. 2, 2017
Please go to http://www.scstatehouse.gov/, click on Senate Committees, then on Judiciary. We need calls now from constituents to the 12 Republican Senators listed (beside lead S.217 sponsor Rex Rice), urging them to support and vote for favorable passage of the Personhood Act of SC (S.217) with no “exceptions” amendments out of this Judiciary Committee by Tues., Jan. 16, 2018. God’s Requirement for Murder is Justice ( Amos 5:15, KJV ).
In Christ,
Steve Lefemine, Christian pro-life missionary
exec. dir., Christians for Personhood
[ This newsletter w/ hyperlinks is posted at: http://christianlifeandliberty.net, click on “Personhood Act” page, go to item #139. ]