LOGAN – Candidate Catherine Brenchley Hammon brings an oddly non-political agenda to the contest to replace outgoing U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop in Congress.
“I’m seeking office because I believe that the United States of America has another problem more serious than the ongoing Coronavirus,“ Hammon says. “What problem? The family is missing from our Constitution, which weakens our republic’s very foundation.”
A native Utahn, Hammon is a graduate of the universities of Utah and Maryland, plus the University of Utah Law School. She has experience in Republican party activities at precinct, county and district levels in Maryland and briefly joined the staff of Sen. Orrin Hatch in Washington during the 1980s.
Hammon says that she was surprised to discover while in law school that there was no mention of the family in the U.S. Constitution. She found the reason for that omission during later studies of American history.
“Our Founding Fathers saw the family as the primary form of government,” she explains, “… where most life lessons and skills are learned and mastered … They believed the family was a given, a permanent fixture of human life that would never disappear. So, they thought that the family needed no special support or protection” from the Constitution.
But times have changed, according to Hammon. She cites the problems of suicide, drug abuse, shooting violence, abortion, homelessness and alcoholism as signs that family values have eroded in America, particularly for young people.
“Happily, there is a remedy,” Hammon insists. “We can put the family into the Constitution today … Our wise Founding Fathers provided for its amendment. They knew the future was unknown and they expected us – if necessary –to act to protect our union and republic by amendment.”
The candidate says she has already drafted the text of what she calls “The Family First Amendment” that she will introduce if elected to Congress.
“As family life and family government have faltered, the problem of the spirit – despair, anger, hopelessness – that are felt by many Americans have taken root …” Hammon says. “I’m not minimizing the real danger at this moment of the international virus that’s invaded our shores. People are losing loved ones, work, income, businesses … Making matters worse, our economy is faltering.
“What I’m saying is that we can tackle many problems at once. We can fight this virus, defend family life and family government and solve other problems, too. We fought two major wars in World War II … We can fight on many fronts today as well. We just have to be organized and focused.”