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Conservatives Rally Their Cause Groups Say Bills, Despite Defeat, Planted Seeds For Future Change

Christian conservative groups rallied outside the state Capitol Tuesday to celebrate their impact on the Idaho Legislature this year.

None of the bills pushed by the groups, however, has passed.

“The legislators are listening - we thank them for that,” Dennis Mansfield, director of the Idaho Family Forum, told a crowd of about 100. He added, “We are listening and watching the legislators - that’s very important.”

Conservative Christian groups will be heavily involved in this year’s elections, Mansfield said. “We will stand with those who stand with us, and we will challenge those who, for whatever reason, have stood against the traditional values.”

Mansfield singled out Rep. Tom Dorr, R-Post Falls, for praise. “Tom stood up in the House of Representatives and said we need to address divorce reform, that divorce is tearing apart our families.”

Both of Dorr’s divorce bills died, Mansfield said. “But you know what? Ideas don’t die.” Mansfield said his group will be back with many of its legislative proposals again next year.

Dorr and Rep. Jeff Alltus, R-Coeur d’Alene, both Idaho Family Forum members, were among a dozen state representatives attending the rally. No state senators attended. Most of the bills Mansfield mentioned have died in the Senate. “That’s part of what we’re saying,” Mansfield said. “We can get things through the House. The question is why are they stopping in the Senate.”

The legislative agenda he identified included:

HJR12, a constitutional amendment declaring the traditional family to be Idaho’s “paramount institution” and forbidding government interference in the family. The measure, sponsored by Rep. Bill Sali, R-Meridian, received the required two-thirds vote in the House, but never got a hearing in the Senate.

HB601, Rep. Ron Crane’s bill to lower Idaho’s standard for drunken driving from .10 percent blood alcohol to .08. Mansfield said the Family Forum and other conservative groups rallied their members to support Crane’s bill, which passed the House but died in a Senate committee.

HB470, Dorr’s bill to require mutual consent before a divorce could be granted on the grounds of irreconcilable differences. It died in a House committee.

HB826, Dorr’s bill to require a one-year separation and eight counseling sessions before a divorce could be granted for irreconcilable differences. It, too, died in the House Judiciary Committee.

SB1460, a bill to license pastoral counselors, which the Family Forum opposed. It is languishing on the Senate’s amending order and may die.

HB777, Rep. Fred Tilman’s bill to give a $1,000 tax credit for every child who doesn’t attend public schools.

It was killed in a House committee.

HB627, Rep. Dan Mader’s bill to eliminate the so-called marriage penalty from Idaho’s income tax code.

It passed the House, but failed to get a Senate hearing after Gov. Phil Batt threatened to veto it because of its cost to the state.

Mansfield noted that more than a dozen lawmakers don’t plan to run for re-election, and called on the assembled supporters to run for the Legislature.

“It’s not only a responsibility but a God-given responsibility to be involved,” he said, adding later, “Maybe God is calling you.”

The rally also featured pitches for four initiatives being proposed by the Idaho Citizens Alliance.

Those initiatives would:

Restrict gay rights; restrict abortion; limit the negotiating power of teachers’ unions; and give a $500 per child tax credit for children who don’t attend public schools.

“As you can see, if most of these initiatives qualify we will send shock waves across the liberal establishment,” the ICA’s Kelly Walton told the rally.

Groups represented at the rally included the Family Forum, the ICA, Taxpayers United for Freedom, the Idaho State Property Owners Association, the Idaho Christian Coalition, Right to Life of Idaho and People for the West.

, DataTimes