Houston Mayor Subpoenas Church Sermons

Religious Freedom, ,

Increasingly, I find myself telling people, “If you don’t believe religious liberty is under attack, try exercising it sometime. You’ll see what happens.”

We have written repeatedly about the so-called “nondiscrimination” ordinance passed in Fayetteville a few weeks ago and its unintended consequences. The ordinance creates special legal provisions for certain people based on sexual orientation and gender-identity at the expense of religious freedom and sound public policy. Fayetteville voters will have an opportunity to decide whether or not to repeal the ordinance at a special election on December 9 thanks to a petition drive carried out by local residents and church leaders.

However, nothing in Fayetteville compares to what Houston ministers are facing right now as a result of their city’s efforts to pass new “nondiscrimination” legislation. In a bizarre series of twists and turns, Houston city officials have ordered several local pastors to turn over sermons and other pastoral communications. Any pastor who fails to comply could face “fine or confinement, or both.”

In other words, the city is telling ministers they could be fined and imprisoned if they fail to turn over their sermons.

How did this happen? Isn’t this America? Doesn’t the First Amendment recognize and protect the freedom of speech and the exercise of religion?

According to different news sources, the Houston City Council, in the face of much opposition, passed a “nondiscrimination” ordinance last summer that, among other things, permits men to use the women’s restrooms and vice versa. To bring the ordinance up for citywide vote, local citizens began collecting petition signatures. They needed about 17,000 signatures; they collected more than 50,000. However, the city disqualified the petitions due to alleged inconsistencies.

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Now is the Time to Order Printed Copies of the Arkansas Voter’s Guide!

Arkansas Voter's Guide,

Last week we received 75,000 fresh copies of the Arkansas Voter’s Guide from the printer’s office. This morning we shipped nearly 10,000 copies of the guide to voters and churches all over the state.

We are working hard to give away as many copies of the guide as we can. If you have not ordered your free copy of the Arkansas Voter’s Guide, now is an excellent time to do so.

Early voting starts next week, so now is the time to find out where candidates stand on important issues. Click here to order.

You can see the Arkansas Voter’s Guide online at www.ArkansasVotersGuide.com, and you can click here to request printed copies of our nonpartisan guide (free of charge) for you, your friends and family, your church, your Sunday school class, your Bible study group–whoever!

If you have any questions about the guide, feel free to give us a call at (501) 375-7000.

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ADF: Court Can’t Change These 3 Truths About Marriage

Marriage

Our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom have published a list of three truths the courts cannot change about marriage.

ADF writes,

  • Marriage is creative. The union of man and woman has the inherent potential to create and raise children, and that is what makes marriage a unique relationship. Only male-female relationships can produce children, and having parents committed to each other and their children is best for children. A woman can be a great mom, but she can never be a dad, and a great dad can never be a mom.
  • Marriage is our foundation.  As the Supreme Court has previously stated, marriage is “fundamental to the very existence and survival of the [human] race.” Zablocki v. Redhail, 434 U.S. 374, 384 (1978). The lifelong, faithful union of husband and wife promotes durable families for the common good today and for future generations.
  • Marriage is our future. It “is an institution, in the maintenance of which . . . the public is deeply interested, for it is the foundation of the family and of society, without which there would be neither civilization nor progress,” according to the Supreme Court in Maynard v. Hill, 125 U.S. 190, 211 (1888). Marriage is progressive – it ensures that our civilization will not only continue by producing future generations, but also that those future generations will be best prepared to become good citizens and contribute to a healthy, thriving society.

When courts try to unilaterally redefine marriage, they compromise the benefits of marriage. ADF also lists three things we can all do to support marriage in society.

Click here to read more.

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