Houston Mayor Subpoenas Church Sermons
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.