Associates of an organization that promotes Catholic religious freedom are condemning Sen. Kamala Harris’s announcement of her bid for the presidency, blasting the California Democrat’s attacks on people of faith and her support for late-term abortion.
“Kamala Harris has shown she has what it takes to lose a general election,” said Maureen Ferguson, senior policy advisor with The Catholic Association (TCA), in a joint statement sent to Breitbart News.
Ferguson continued that Harris “has demonstrated a hostility towards people of faith and a blatant disregard for First Amendment freedom of religion and association in her condemnation of the Knights of Columbus, and has voted in favor of inhumane late term abortion.”
In December, Harris and her Democrat colleague in the Senate, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, attacked U.S. District Court nominee Brian C. Buescher for his membership in the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic charitable organization. Harris and Hirono suggested that Buescher be disqualified as a judicial candidate because his affiliation with the Catholic group would not allow him to fairly judge cases having to do with the issues of abortion and same-sex marriage.
“This mentality did not serve Hillary Clinton well in key battleground states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Michigan,” Ferguson observed.
Andrea Piccioti-Bayer, TCA Foundation legal advisor, said, “Kamala Harris has been unabashed about attacking the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.”
“As California’s top law enforcement officer, she sponsored legislation unconstitutionally targeting not-for-profit pregnancy centers,” she continued. “And just last week, Harris’ colleagues in the Senate had to rebuke her for attacking a judicial nominee’s religious affiliation and participation in the Knights of Columbus. Democratic voters deserve a candidate who respects our Constitution and doesn’t peddle anti-Catholic bigotry.”
Ashley McGuire, senior fellow with TCA, suggested Harris apologize to the U.S.’s 70 million Catholics before running for the presidency.
“Senator Kamala Harris needs a constitutional refresher before seeking the highest political office in America,” she added.
Supreme Knight Carl Anderson of the Knights of Columbus told Breitbart News in an interview that Harris’s and Hirono’s attacks against Buescher’s affiliation with the Knights was “hurtful to a lot of Catholics.”
“And we really thought that kind of question was behind us with President Kennedy’s election,” he said, adding:
But, we don’t want to go back there as a nation. And, so we’re just going forward. I think the overwhelming criticism of her position coming from all types of faith communities really sent a very clear signal that the Senate just this week passed without any opposing vote a resolution condemning that … But, I think people of faith in many different communities understand that that kind of test is really something outside of the American tradition. Our organization is based on the principles of charity and unity. So, I, for one, don’t want to make it a personal thing, but I do think we have to say, “Look, American democracy is based on the free marketplace of ideas, so let’s go at it.” But to say, “If your idea is connected to your religious faith, then you can’t talk about it,” that’s someplace we don’t want to go. That’s a different marketplace.
Dr. Grazie Christie, policy advisor with TCA, added, “The President of the United States has to be able to treat every citizen of this wildly diverse country with the respect and dignity they deserve.”
“Kamala Harris has shown her disdain for one of her largest constituencies, people of faith, through her attack on one of America’s most honorable and long-lived charitable organizations, the Knights of Columbus,” she continued. “Her lack of respect for the countless good-hearted Americans who have participated in the Knights’ charitable projects, painting all of them with ugly suggestions of intolerance and bigotry, will be a strong mark against her in any presidential bid.”
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