Courageous Culture Building in a World of Desecration

Culture, ,

Walking the streets of Edinburgh, Scotland I saw a long line of historic buildings and cobblestone streets that millions traverse every year. As my group walked along the historic alleyways and the famous Royal Mile, rainbow flags came into view. They were being displayed for the pride parade taking place downtown. I even saw a “pride” banner on the grounds of the Tolbooth Kirk which was originally designed to be a meeting hall for the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. In the same field of view, a Scotsman, dressed in full kilt, played Amazing Grace on the bagpipes. I saw an older gentleman bravely standing amidst the pro-LGBTQ crowd with a sign that told people Jesus loved them, calling them to repent.

I had no idea there would be a pride parade that day with hundreds of people crowding the streets, including drag queens. The city center became incredibly crowded with an influx of people, some celebrating, others taken aback at what they saw, and some simply trying to eat their lunch.

I recall thinking of the dramatic contrast between the noise of the bagpipe blaring out Amazing Grace and the boisterous clamoring of people celebrating pride, all in a beautiful country that has a rich history of Christian reformers. 

Back in the U.S, things are hardly different. One day I saw a bumper sticker that read, “ I love my gay dog.” And here I thought Aristotle said that the thing which separates the human animal from all other animals was man’s ability to reason. Now humans are confusing the poor animals with their “reasoning.” Just like the scene in Edinburgh, these sorts of odd statements are a downstream effect of humanity’s denial of God and His statutes. It is an all too unfortunate result of individuals and families who push away the abundant blessings that God offers. 

Vice President JD Vance’s new book Communion talks of this denial of God’s truth. In the book, the Vice President explains his own return to faith, but he also explains the societal disease that has inflicted society as a whole—Secularism. Individuals, societies, politics, marriages, and the dynamics of world leadership are infected by the destruction of Secularism. As a result, life spans are shorter, people are having fewer kids or none at all, gay marriage has risen, and hopelessness is rampant. 

Thankfully, truth can be found in God’s word and His gospel. Every human being is made in the image of God and because of this, our value system should stem from that understanding. As Christians, we should always be making the case for a return to faith in God as the foundation for flourishing families and fulfilling lives. This is culture building. When humanity gets the truth distorted, it needs the light of the gospel. If Christians do not stand up and fight secularism and the distortions it inflicts, humanity will fall into the depravity that calls dogs gay and more tragically, desecrate themselves in the process. 

Erin Hogan has worked with Family Council since January of 2019, where she serves as Director of Government Relations.

READ MORE

Family Council Joins Amicus Brief Defending Parental Rights Before 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

Transgender, ,

Last week, Family Council joined an amicus brief defending parental rights in a federal lawsuit currently before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

The case is Mirabelli v. Bonta. Parents and teachers are challenging a school district policy that requires teachers to deceive parents about their child’s gender transition at school.

On September 2, Advancing American Freedom filed an amicus brief on behalf of Family Council and dozens of other pro-family organizations urging the 9th Circuit court to affirm parental rights and stop a California school district’s secret social gender transition policy.

The brief argues that “the fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing of their children is essential to liberty and is deeply rooted in American tradition and practice,” and that schools undermine parental rights when they deceive parents about a child’s gender dysphoria or social transition at school.

Unfortunately, the school policy in California is not an isolated incident. Pro-LGBT activists have used public schools to promote transgender ideology and gender confusion to kids in many different ways.

Our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom have spoken out about how schools are hiding important information about students from their parents. But policymakers, legal experts, and parents are pushing back.

Last year, the U.S. Department of Education announced it was investigating four school districts in Kansas for secret gender transitions after a complaint alleged that school officials let male students into females’ private spaces and sports at school and hid students’ sexual identity confusion from their parents.

Family Council joined dozens of other pro-family organizations from across the country last year in an amicus brief regarding a New York school district that treated a middle-school girl as if she were a boy without her mother’s knowledge or consent.

Arkansas has enacted good laws to help prevent schools from socially transitioning children or promoting radical pro-LGBT ideology in the classroom. These are good laws that protect children and affirm parental rights.

But federal court cases like the one in California could affect schools nationwide. That’s why it’s important for us to stand up for students and parents in this case.

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

READ MORE

HHS Report Exposes Alleged Insurance Fraud Surrounding Sex-Change Procedures Performed on Children

LGBT, ,

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a startling report exposing ways medical professionals and facilities allegedly profited from sex-change procedures performed on kids.

In a statement, HHS said:

“According to the report, more than 225 hospitals and health systems established pediatric gender programs nationwide. The report also analyzes nationwide claims data from 2015 through 2025 and identifies approximately $50 million in insurance claims for puberty blockers billed using endocrine disorder diagnostic code E34.9 (Endocrine Disorder, Unspecified). It further reports that nearly $11 million in claims for patients ages 13–17 were billed using a diagnosis code for precocious puberty E301 — findings the report says warrant additional review of insurance coding practices.”

In a separate statement issued on X, Vice President Vance said:

“For years now, some hospitals and healthcare providers have been subjecting children to horrific, experimental treatments in service of radical gender ideologies. Today, thanks to the Wolves in White Coats report released by @HHSGov, we know why: profit. It turns out that convincing vulnerable children to reject their gender can create patients for life, earning hospitals tens of thousands of dollars in additional revenue per child.

“The report contains deeply disturbing allegations, and I encourage every American and every parent, to read it. More than just pushing these procedures on kids, hospitals and providers may have been defrauding Medicaid and private insurers by using misleading or fraudulent billing codes to get insurance to cover the costs.”

Over the past 20 years, the number of children who identify as transgender has skyrocketed — especially among biological girls.

Many hospitals opened “gender clinics” that prescribed puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to kids or even perform sex-change procedures on children. But public health experts and policymakers in the U.S., the U.K., Sweden, Finland, and other nations have found that science simply does not support these “gender transitions.”

These drugs and procedures carry serious risks — including infertility, sexual dysfunction, impaired bone density, and cardiovascular problems.

Whistleblowers have come forward to testify about how they were rushed through gender transitions as children without understanding the procedures’ risks, consequences, or alternatives.

Today we know pro-LGBT activists and medical organizations spent years citing each other’s work in a circular pattern, manufacturing a fake consensus about performing sex-change surgeries on kids.

Stories like these have prompted investigations and legal action against doctors and facilities that performed these procedures on children.

In 2021, Arkansas’ lawmakers passed the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act. This good law generally prohibits doctors from performing sex-change procedures on children or giving them puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.

Arkansas was the first state in America to enact a law like the SAFE Act, but since 2021 lawmakers in more than half the country have passed similar legislation. Federal courts have upheld the SAFE Act and other state laws like it.

This latest HHS report underscores that Arkansas’ lawmakers were right to pass the SAFE Act. Arkansans can be proud that their state has done so much to protect children from these dangerous sex-change procedures.

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

READ MORE