John Stonestreet – Page 69

Justices Thomas and Alito Speak Out on Obergefell and Religious Freedom

Oct 8, 2020John StonestreetMarriage, Religious FreedomReligious Freedom, Religious Liberty, Same-Sex Marriage

*John Stonestreet, Radio Host and President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview.*

On the first day of its new term, the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples following the Obergefell decision, which mandated same-sex marriage on the nation..

Justices Thomas and Alito, while agreeing with the court’s denial of appeal, issued a remarkable accompanying opinion stating bluntly that Obergefell has had “ruinous consequences for religious liberty.”

Because of Obergefell, wrote the Justices, believers in traditional marriage are easily labeled “bigots, making their religious liberty concerns that much easier to dismiss.”

It’s a conflict putting lives and livelihoods at risk, and it must be addressed.

Or, as Justices Thomas and Alito put it: “By choosing to privilege a novel constitutional right [to same-sex marriage] over the religious liberty interests explicitly protected in the First Amendment… the Court has created a problem that only it can fix.”

Sounds like a gauntlet has been thrown.

U.S. to Ban Certain Products Made by Slave Labor in Xinjiang

Sep 22, 2020John StonestreetChina, Current EventsChina

Last week the Department of Homeland Security announced it is “cracking down” on products produced by forced labor in China’s Xinjiang province, “where the Chinese government is engaged in systemic human rights abuses against the Uyghur people.”

Among the products being seized and banned are computer parts and cotton products. And this time the DHS is naming names, like Hifei Bitland and Xinjiang Junggar Cotton and Linen Co., along with other hair and apparel product companies.

This is important news. For one thing, it means the Administration is enforcing Tariff Act provisions prohibiting the import of products made with forced labor. For another, it’s a clear signal to the Chinese Communist regime that it cannot get away scot-free with its genocidal persecution of its Muslim Uighur minority.

Let’s hope that other nations follow suit and bring economic pressure to bear on China. It may be the only way to get China to change its ways.

Funding Planned Parenthood

Sep 17, 2020John StonestreetAbortionAbortion, Life, Planned Parenthood, Pro-life, Sanctity of Human Life

As the election looms closer, Christians should know both why they should vote and how to think through candidates and issues.

At the very top of the list is the sanctity of human life. The Trump administration has taken clear steps to protect the unborn—from judges appointed to executive actions to showing up at the March for Life. Yet, it is still true that Planned Parenthood, as LiveAction President Lila Rose recently tweeted, “under the Trump Administration . . . receives more money today than they did under the Obama administration. It’s time to hold [Planned Parenthood] accountable for their crimes against children.”

Planned Parenthood officials have admitted under oath that they participate in partial birth abortion and the sale of body parts—both federal crimes . We must let the administration know that any tax dollars going their direction is simply unnacceptable.

And we must press pro-life candidates on how they plan to end abortion funding.