Virginia Law Requires Christian Business Owners to Violate Their Faith

Religious Freedom,
John Stonestreet, Radio Host and President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview

On July 1, the “Virginia Values Act,” went into effect. The law “prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in housing, public and private employment, public accommodations, and access to credit.”

Governor Northam claims the bill ensures that “Virginia is a place where all people are welcome to live, work, visit, and raise a family.” But wedding and adventure photographer Chris Herring worries that promise doesn’t include people of faith like him. While he gladly serves clients of all backgrounds and orientations, he cannot use his talents at events that violate his faith, including same-sex weddings.

Should Herring refuse to photograph gay weddings or even post about them on his own blog site, he’d face catastrophic fines.

With the help of the Alliance Defending Freedom, Herring has filed a pre-enforcement challenge against the state of Virginia, which joins Kentucky, Colorado, Washington and Arizona as states that discriminate against people of faith in the name of non-discrimination.

Copyright 2020 by the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. Reprinted from BreakPoint.org with permission.

READ MORE

Trial Over Arkansas’ Ten Commandments Monument Delayed

Ten Commandments Monument, , , ,

A trial over Arkansas’ monument of the Ten Commandments has been postponed due to COVID-19.

In 2015 Sen. Jason Rapert (R – Conway) sponsored a law authorizing a monument of the Ten Commandments on the Arkansas State Capitol Grounds.

The monument was paid for with private funds, and it was placed on the Capitol lawn on June 27, 2017.

Less than 24 hours later, a man plowed a vehicle into the monument, completely destroying it.

The monument was rebuilt and replaced on the Capitol grounds in April of 2018.

Shortly afterward, the American Humanist Association, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and the Satanic Temple all filed legal challenges to have the monument removed.

The lawsuit was set to go to trial this month, but due to disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, the trial is being delayed 60 – 90 days.

As we have written before, Arkansas’ monument of the Ten Commandments is identical to one the U.S. Supreme Court ruled constitutional in Texas in 2005.

Frankly, there just shouldn’t be anything controversial about a monument honoring the significance of the Ten Commandments.

Historians have long recognized the Ten Commandments as one of the earliest examples of the rule of law in human history, and they have helped shape the laws in countries around the world.

Arkansas’ monument simply honors that legacy.

READ MORE