Southern Baptist Convention Affirms Biblical Views on Marriage, Gender-Identity

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The Associated Press reports the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution affirming marriage as the union of one man and one woman and opposing transgender ideology during its annual meeting in Dallas on Tuesday.

The convention also hosted a conversation with Tennessee’s attorney general and with an Alliance Defending Freedom attorney regarding laws that protect children from sex-change procedures.

This month marks ten years since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its Obergefell v. Hodges decision that struck down state marriage laws nationwide.

From 2004 to 2015, voters in more than three-fifths of the country democratically passed laws and amendments defining marriage in their respective states. In most cases, those measures defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The Obergefell ruling nullified all of those state laws.

The Southern Baptist Convention’s resolution affirms biblical marriage as the union of one man and one woman, and it calls for the reversal of the supreme court’s bad Obergefell ruling. It also opposes the normalization of transgender ideology.

Some member of the media have seemed surprised the Sothern Baptist Convention would approve a resolution like this, but there really should not be anything shocking about a Christian denomination holding Christian beliefs on marriage and gender-identity.

In 2004, the SBC approved a pro-marriage resolution saying, “The union of one man and one woman is the only form of marriage prescribed in the Bible as God’s perfect design for the family.” That resolution also called for passage of a federal marriage amendment defining marriage in America as the union of one man and one woman.

In 2014, the convention approved a resolution affirming “God’s good design that gender identity is determined by biological sex and not by one’s self-perception.”

In light of that, the SBC’s latest resolution isn’t exactly new.

Support for same-sex marriage has actually declined in recent years, and about half the states —including Arkansas — have passed laws protecting children from sex-change procedures. Many of the world’s leading health experts have found these procedures are dangerous. Americans have also expressed widespread backlash against corporations that pander to pro-LGBT groups.

Reversing the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision does not seem likely right now, but the same thing seemed true of Roe v. Wade 50 years ago. We appreciate the Southern Baptist Convention maintaining its biblical convictions regarding marriage and gender-identity.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Are Public Schools Lying to Parents?

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Our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom have recently spoken out about how schools are hiding important information about students from their parents.

ADF CEO, President, and General Counsel Kristen Waggoner recently appeared on “The Hugh Hewitt Show” to discuss the situation — and how she hopes the U.S. Supreme Court will eventually address it.

ADF writes,

During the 2020-21 school year, a 6th-grade girl in Ludlow, Massachusetts, shared with a teacher that she had told a friend she ‘likes girls,’ was experiencing low self-esteem and depression, and needed help. The teacher shared these concerns with the girl’s mother, and both agreed to work together to help her. The student’s parents promptly got their daughter a therapist, informed the school she was getting professional help, and expressly directed school staff to have no further private conversations with their daughter about her mental health issues. But when the student sent an email to teachers and counselors informing them that she now identified as “genderqueer” and wanted to be addressed by a new name and a new list of pronouns, they began doing so without informing the student’s parents or asking for their consent. The parents found out and asked the district to stop, but it refused. The parents filed a lawsuit challenging the school district’s clear violation of their parental rights, and Alliance Defending Freedom filed an amicus brief in their support at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit. Unfortunately, the 1st Circuit failed to protect parental rights.

Over the years, we have seen pro-LGBT activists use public schools to promote transgender ideology to kids in many different ways — but policymakers have pushed back.

In 2021 Arkansas passed Act 461 to prevent male athletes from competing against girls in women’s athletics at school. This good law protects fairness in women’s sports in Arkansas.

That same year, lawmakers passed the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act generally prohibiting doctors from performing sex-change procedures on children or giving them puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. Unfortunately, that law has been blocked in court, but we believe it ultimately will be upheld.

In 2023 Arkansas lawmakers took additional action by passing Act 317 to protect privacy in public school locker rooms, showers, restrooms, changing areas, and similar facilities by requiring public schools to designate these facilities for “male” or “female” use.

Legislators also passed Act 274 of 2023 letting a child who undergoes a sex-change procedure sue the healthcare provider who performed the procedure if the child suffers any injury as a result. Act 274 also outlines informed-consent processes for sex-change surgeries, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones, and it contains protections for healthcare providers who decline to perform sex-reassignment procedures.

In 2023 the Arkansas Legislature passed the LEARNS Act overhauling public education in Arkansas, prohibiting critical race theory in public schools, and protecting young elementary school children from inappropriate sexual material in the classroom.

This year legislators passed Act 955 by Sen. Blake Johnson (R — Corning) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R — Perryville) protecting physical privacy and safety of Arkansans in showers, locker rooms, changing rooms, restrooms, and sleeping quarters in government buildings, jails, and in shelters for victims of domestic violence.

Taken together, all of these good laws protect children at school and elsewhere around the state. Public school students should not be taught to question their sexual-orientation or their gender, and schools should not lie to parents about what their children are learning at school. We appreciate Alliance Defending Freedom standing up for parental rights, and we appreciate Arkansas’ policymakers protecting children.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Dr. Jennifer Bauwens Unpacks HHS Study Finding No Strong Evidence to Support Transgender Procedures

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Earlier this month Dr. Jennifer Bauwens, Director of Family Research Council’s Center for Family Studies, appeared on “Washington Watch with Tony Perkins” to highlight a new report from HHS regarding children with gender dysphoria.

The HHS study found no strong evidence supporting transgender procedures on children. Instead, medical experts say these children need mental and emotional support.

Over the past few years, it has become clear that the medical “consensus” regarding transgender procedures on children has been largely manufactured by pro-LGBT organizations.

Recently, the U.K.’s National Health Service announced it will start advising clinics to assess children who identify as transgender for mental health problems and other conditions.

The U.K. opted to shutter its transgender clinic and stop giving puberty blockers to children after whistleblowers revealed families were pressured into subjecting their children to puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones without adequate mental health screenings or informed consent.

During her interview on “Washington Watch,” Dr. Bauwens explained how the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ 409-page report further debunks the myth that children who disagree with their biological sex must undergo hormone treatments and sex-change surgeries.

All of this reminds us why Arkansas was right to pass the Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act in 2021.

This good law protects children in Arkansas from being subjected to puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and sex-change surgeries.

Unfortunately, the SAFE Act is currently tied up in court. However, given how medical evidence continues to show these procedures hurt kids, we believe our courts ultimately will uphold the SAFE Act as constitutional.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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