Washington, D.C. – In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) appeared on Fox News Channel’s America’s Newsroom this morning to discuss the introduction of his bipartisan Senate resolution condemning the violence and persecution of Iraqi Christians and other religious minorities by the Islamic State in Iraq.

Portman also wrote an op-ed in The Daily Caller in which he explains that the resolution reaffirms our commitment to protecting religious freedom around the world and urges the establishment of safe havens for those in Iraq seeking refuge from religious persecution.

The resolution is supported by the Christian Coalition of America, the American Center for Law and Justice, and the Ohio Christian Alliance.

Excerpts of the op-ed are below and the full piece can be viewed here.

To watch Portman’s interview on Fox News, click here.

America Must Stand With Iraqi Christians
Sen. Rob Portman
The Daily Caller
July 30, 2014

Today in Iraq, we are witnessing the systematic purging of Christians. In Mosul — Nineveh of Bible times — where Christians have lived for nearly two thousand years, the terrorist group the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, has declared war on non-Muslims.

The leaders of the Islamic State have issued an ultimatum to local Christians: convert to Islam, pay a fine that few can afford, or “die by the sword.” Many have fled and been robbed of all of their possessions before they can get out of town. Some that remain have found their homes stamped with a symbol denoting their religion and marking them for death, and untold numbers have already been killed. A decade ago, 1.5 million Christians made Iraq their home. Today, fewer than 400,000 remain.

Even before the founding of our country, religious liberty has been sacred to the American people. And when that freedom has been threatened around the world, we have led the fight against those who would deny it, lending spiritual, economic, and military support to oppressed peoples. Today we must act in Iraq.
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We cannot sit idly by as Christians in Iraq suffer. Recently, President Obama declared on Religious Freedom Day that religious liberty “is not just an American right; it is a universal human right to be protected here at home and across the globe.” We must put action behind those words.

Today, I am introducing a bipartisan resolution in the United States Senate. It reaffirms our commitment to protecting religious freedom around the world. It calls upon the State Department to coordinate with the Kurdistan Regional Government, the Iraqis, our allies in the region, and the thousands of refugees who have come to our country over the decades, to work together to secure safe havens for those in Iraq seeking refuge from religious persecution. It demands that the Iraqi government do more to protect religious minorities within their borders, and it urges the administration to ensure the timely processing of visas for Iraq’s minority groups fleeing religious persecution.

These steps will not end the violence in Iraq, but they will give Iraqi Christians a chance to escape with their lives. Some of our allies are already providing asylum to these persecuted Christians. The U.S. must do more.
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By taking steps to end the persecution of Christians and other minorities in Iraq, we can begin to send a message to the world that we will not stand idly by as our basic, human freedoms are violated. While we must continue to pray for Iraqi Christians, the United States of America — a country founded by those fleeing persecution — must also take action to help them.