wfn.org | CRC Minister Testifies on Capitol Hill

[George Conklin <gconklin@igc.org>]

> CRC Minister Testifies on Capitol Hill

Dec. 17, 2009 -- Rev. David Schuringa, president of the Crossroad
Bible Institute, testified recently at a Capitol Hill hearing about
legislation that would restore voting rights to persons who have been
released from prison after being convicted of a crime.

Speaking at the Senate briefing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building,
Schuringa said that it is important from the stance of social justice
that Congress pass the ?Democracy Restoration Act: Restoring the Right
to Vote to Formerly Incarcerated Citizens.?

An estimated 5.3 million Americans cannot vote because of a criminal
conviction. Of these, four million are out of prison and living and
working in their communities. Allowing them to vote would, says
Schuringa, help in a prisoner?s re-entry into society and would be
consistent with the ideal of allowing all citizens to vote.

?The Senate briefing ? was a success and my testimony was
enthusiastically received,? said Schuringa, whose institute works in a
variety of ways with prisoners and ex-offenders and is endorsed by the
Christian Reformed Church. Schuringa is an ordained minister in the CRC.

?They've never heard social justice from the perspective of a Reformed
minister and world-view Calvinist, I guess,? he said.

Schuringa was one of four people on a panel moderated by an official
from the Brennan Center for Justice.

The bill is also supported by the CRC?s Office of Social Justice. The
Democracy Restoration Act would:
* Restore voting rights in federal elections to nearly 4 million
Americans who are out of prison and living in the community.
* Ensure that people on probation never lose their right to vote in
federal elections.
* Notify people about their right to vote in federal elections when
they are leaving prison, sentenced to probation, or convicted of a  misdemeanor.

Last summer, the bill to was introduced in Congress. Coming up in a
couple months will be a House Briefing for which Schuringa might be
asked to speak. The bill likely won?t come up for a full vote, if it
does, for another year.

?This issue is terribly important. As I said at the hearing, the best
way we can be a voice for the voiceless in society (Prov. 31:8-9), is
to speak out and give them their own voice--the vote,? says Schuringa.

?This injustice, keeping millions on the fringes of society, is the
stuff the prophets railed against and it breaks Jesus' heart.  We're
talking here of fundamental restorative justice.?

While 15 states and the District of Columbia already restore voting
rights upon release from prison, 35 states restrict the voting rights
of people who are no longer incarcerated.

> -Chris Meehan, CRC News

> -- Chris Meehan
> News & Media Director
> Christian Reformed Church in North America
> 1-616-224-0849