Religious Liberty – Family Council

Justices Thomas and Alito Speak Out on Obergefell and Religious Freedom

Oct 8, 2020Guest AuthorMarriage, Religious FreedomReligious Freedom, Religious Liberty, Same-Sex Marriage

*John Stonestreet, Radio Host and President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview.*

On the first day of its new term, the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples following the Obergefell decision, which mandated same-sex marriage on the nation..

Justices Thomas and Alito, while agreeing with the court’s denial of appeal, issued a remarkable accompanying opinion stating bluntly that Obergefell has had “ruinous consequences for religious liberty.”

Because of Obergefell, wrote the Justices, believers in traditional marriage are easily labeled “bigots, making their religious liberty concerns that much easier to dismiss.”

It’s a conflict putting lives and livelihoods at risk, and it must be addressed.

Or, as Justices Thomas and Alito put it: “By choosing to privilege a novel constitutional right [to same-sex marriage] over the religious liberty interests explicitly protected in the First Amendment… the Court has created a problem that only it can fix.”

Sounds like a gauntlet has been thrown.

Video: Federal Government Sues Arkansas Kroger Over Religious Discrimination

Sep 22, 2020Jerry CoxLGBT, Religious Freedom, VideoLGBT, Religious Liberty, Video

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit last week against a Kroger store in Conway that allegedly fired two employees who declined to wear rainbow insignia at work.

According to the lawsuit, the employees considered the emblem a symbol of gay pride, and could not wear it in light of their Christian faith.

Watch this video to learn more.

Federal Government Sues Conway Kroger For Religious Discrimination

Sep 21, 2020Jerry CoxLGBT, Religious FreedomLGBT, Religious Freedom, Religious Liberty

Last week the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced it has filed a lawsuit against a Kroger store in Conway over religious discrimination against two employees.

The lawsuit centers on two employees who were fired after they declined to wear a rainbow-colored heart at work; rainbow insignia generally are worn to show support for LGBT causes and lifestyles.

The EEOC writes,

According to the EEOC’s suit, the Conway Kroger implemented a new dress code, which included an apron depicting a rainbow-colored heart emblem on the bib of the apron. The women believed the emblem endorsed LGBTQ values and that wearing it would violate their religious beliefs. According to the EEOC, one woman offered to wear the apron with the emblem covered and the other offered to wear a different apron without the emblem, but the company made no attempt to accommodate their requests. When the women still refused to wear the apron with the emblem visible, the EEOC charged, Kroger retaliated against them by disciplining and ultimately discharging them.
Such alleged conduct violates the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Central Division, Civil Action No. 4:20-cv-01099, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The suit seeks monetary relief in the form of back pay and compensatory damages, as well as an injunction against future discrimination.

The Kroger store in question is the one located at 855 Salem Rd, Conway, AR 72034.

In recent years we’ve seen a number of major corporations try to use their influence to advance the LGBT agenda.

For example:

In 2014 Chase Bank surveyed its employees’ loyalty to LGBT causes.

In 2015 Kroger announced it soon would begin offering “trans-inclusive” employment benefits.

The following year, Target unveiled a new policy to let men use women’s restrooms — and vice versa — in its stores. Walgreens rolled out a similar policy in 2018.

And last year Gilette released a pro-transgender ad that ended up costing the company an estimated $8 billion in lost sales.

In the midst of all of this, it’s good to see the federal government taking a stand for religious liberty right here in Arkansas.

You can read the EEOC’s press release about the lawsuit here.