Venue Investigated for Declining to Host Same-Sex Weddings

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A wedding and event venue in Iowa reportedly is under investigation for declining to host same-sex weddings.

News outlets indicate the Grand Rapids’ Office of Equity and Engagements is investigating The Broadway Avenue, a wedding and event venue, for possibly violating the city’s “human rights ordinance.”

The Broadway Avenue is owned and operated by a husband and wife team.

The couple proclaims on the venue’s website, “We believe in Jesus and are so blessed by his calling in our lives to start The Broadway Avenue!”

Christian-owned wedding venues, bakeries, photography studios, and florist shops have come under fire in recent years for declining to host or participate in same-sex ceremonies.

Many have found themselves targeted by state and local “non-discrimination” ordinances that do not contain adequate protections for people who want to operate their businesses in keeping with their deeply-held religious convictions.

Stories like these underscore why it is so important for states to enact solid protections for religious liberty.

Without good protections for religious liberty at the state level, cities and counties may be able to run roughshod over the free exercise of religion.

Fortunately, Arkansas enacted the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 2015 that helps protect religious liberty.

And last year the Arkansas Legislature voted to place the Arkansas Religious Freedom Amendment on the 2022 ballot.

If passed, the amendment would enshrine many of the same religious liberty protections from the 2015 law into the Arkansas Constitution, and our protect religious liberties from further erosion.

You Can Learn More About the Arkansas Religious Freedom Amendment Here.

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Pennsylvania Town Issues Citation Against Local Churches Providing Food, Counseling to Community

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Public officials in the Philadelphia suburb of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, recently issued a citation against two churches operating ministries in their community.

NPR affiliate WHYY reports that the churches were cited for violating the city’s zoning code by offering free meals and providing mental health services.

The Pottstown Zoning Officer reportedly cited an Episcopal church and a United Methodist church for the violations.

“Violations” listed on the citation include:

  • Providing free counseling and support for families.
  • Providing soap, razors, toothbrushes, deodorant, toilet paper, phone chargers, and canned goods to the public.
  • Providing weekly buffet style meals for the public.

The citation draws from the city zoning code that defines a church as “A building wherein persons assemble regularly for religious worship and that is used only for such purposes and for those accessory activities as are customarily associated therewith.”

The citation gave the ministries 30 days to apply for a zoning permit with the city or cease and desist these services.

If the churches failed to do so, they could be fined up to $500. The Episcopal News Service reports that the churches do not intend to stop the programs or apply for additional permits.

Churches should not be threatened with fines simply for giving food and basic necessities to the needy.

Stories like this one underscore why it is so important for states to safeguard the free exercise of religion.

In 2016 the Arkansas Department of Health told a Carroll County food ministry that it could not serve soup to the homeless unless the soup was “prepared in an institutional kitchen and served in the same building.”

Fortunately, a religious freedom restoration law the Arkansas Legislature passed in 2015 helped protect that ministry.

Last year the Arkansas Legislature voted to place the Arkansas Religious Freedom Amendment on the 2022 ballot. If passed, it would enshrine many of the same religious liberty protections from the 2015 law into the Arkansas Constitution.

You Can Learn More About the Arkansas Religious Freedom Amendment Here.

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FRC Action Endorses Arkansas Religious Freedom Amendment

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On Wednesday FRC Action in Washington, D.C., issued a statement endorsing the proposed Arkansas Religious Freedom Amendment.

FRC Action is the legislative affiliate of Family Research Council.

In a nutshell, the proposed amendment to the Arkansas Constitution would:

  • Guarantee that state and local laws will not infringe religious liberty.
  • Enshrine protections for religious freedom into the Arkansas Constitution.
  • Provide people with legal recourse if the government infringes their religious freedoms.
  • Maintain balance in situations in which religious liberty conflicts with a compelling governmental interest.

Voters will decide whether or not to add the amendment to the Arkansas Constitution on Election Day this November.

Below is a copy of FRC Action’s statement endorsing the amendment.

This November, you will have the opportunity to make the Arkansas Religious Freedom Restoration Act part of the state constitution by referendum during the 2022 elections. Vote YES on this state ballot initiative to protect religious freedom in Arkansas!

Religious Freedom Restoration Acts (or RFRAs) are nothing new. More than half of the states have them by statute or by court precedent, but we know that religious liberty is under attack as never before. RFRAs simply prohibit the government from burdening religious freedom unless the government meets a high level of legal scrutiny. RFRAs give courts a tried-and-true balancing test for weighing a person’s sincerely held religious beliefs against legitimate state interests, protecting everyone with a conscience regardless of their religion, political views, the content of their beliefs, or how they apply those beliefs.

Arkansas passed a RFRA in 2015, and—despite the ACLU’s disingenuous advocacy—the sky hasn’t fallen: Discrimination isn’t rampant in in Arkansas, because courts know how to apply this balancing test very well. The Arkansas Religious Freedom Amendment would make Arkansas’ current law permanent. By enshrining protections for religious freedom into the Arkansas Constitution, the amendment would guarantee that (no matter who takes office in Little Rock in the future) state and local laws will not infringe religious liberty, provide people with legal recourse if the government infringes their religious freedoms, and maintain balance in situations in which religious liberty conflicts with a compelling governmental interest.

This November, vote YES on this amendment to ensure that the religious freedom of Arkansans is clearly protected for decades to come!

Click here to learn more.

Family Council has analyzed the Arkansas Religious Freedom Amendment and provided information about it on our website. You can find that information here.

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