Tag Archives: religious freedom

Montana Gov. Signs Anti-LGBT "Religious Freedom" Bill Into Law

Montana Gov. Signs Anti-LGBT “Religious Freedom” Bill Into Law

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“To protect Montanans’ right to freely exercise their religion, I was proud to sign the Religious Freedom Restoration Act today.” – Montana Governor Greg Gianforte

A lot of news was reported this week that received little or no attention because of the Derek Chauvin case. This is one of the stories that went overlooked.

Via The Montana Standard

Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte on Thursday signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, bolstering religious beliefs as a claim or defense in court. Democrats and other opponents have decried the new law, arguing it would empower people to freely discriminate against LGBTQ people with beliefs that they are immune in the courts.

Democratic lawmakers in both chambers who are LGBTQ shared soul-bearing testimony in floor sessions about the message the bill’s passage would send to communities who already suffer discrimination. The legislation spurred opponents to rally outside the Capitol, while more than 250 companies co-signed a letter opposing SB 215.

Religion is a CHOICE. Being gay, not so much.

At this point I’d usually say BOYCOTT MONTANA but c’mon there is really nothing there to boycott.

Republicans Introduce the Fairness for All Act (FFA) aka. Equality Act Lite. All the Discrimination, Half the Equality

Republicans Introduce the Fairness for All Act (FFA) aka. Equality Act Lite. All the Discrimination, Half the Equality

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To counter the Democrat backed Equality Act that would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to provide housing, employment, and public accommodation protections to millions of LGBT American citizens a Republican congressman on Friday introduced legislation he says will balance the rights of the religious and LGBT people.

The Fairness for All Act (FFA), introduced by Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, would still make sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) protected classes under the federal Civil Rights Act. But would still allow the right to discriminate aka. religious freedom, exempting churches and religious nonprofits from the anti-discrimination rules. Only for-profit business owners would be subject to the rules, unless they have fewer than 15 employees.

“The Equality Act was written in such a way that a religious person like myself couldn’t vote for it,” said Stewart, who is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “[Democratic legislators] wrote it so that they could say to LGBT people, ‘No Republican voted for it; they don’t care about people like you,’ which just isn’t true.”

Congressman, Sean Patrick Maloney of New York’s Hudson Valley, warned the public to avoid getting fooled by the FFA bill that he said has nothing to do with fairness.

“The bipartisan Equality Act is the only bill in the House that will bring equal protections under the law for LGBT people. This weak legislative stunt by the Republican Party won’t deter us in our fight for true equality.”

The American Civil Liberties Union’s national political director Ronnie Newman said in a written statement that “this bill facilitates efforts to allow taxpayer-funded discrimination, undermines existing civil rights protections, and gives a green light to turning LGBT people away from jobs, health care, housing, and more.”

He continued, “The bill would change the critical balance between our fundamental values of religious liberty and prohibiting discrimination that Congress already struck in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in order to license more discrimination. There’s no reason laws prohibiting discrimination should be different for LGBT people.”

Mississippi Venue Turns Away Gay Couple: We Don't Do "Mixed Race" or "Gay" Weddings

Mississippi Venue Turns Away Gay Couple: We Don’t Do “Mixed Race” or “Gay” Weddings – VIDEO

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A mixed race couple was turned away from Boone’s Camp Event Hall when the owner of the Booneville, Miss., after the business sent them a message: They would not be allowed to get married at the venue after all “because of (the venue’s) beliefs.”

When the groom’s sister LaKambria Welch heard the news that her brother, who is black, would not be allowed to rent the venue to marry his fiancée, who is a white woman, she drove to the venue herself. There, she filmed an encounter with a woman who works for Boone’s Camp

“First of all, we don’t do gay weddings or mixed race, because of our Christian race—I mean, our Christian belief,” the woman tells Welch in the video.

“Okay, we’re Christians as well,” Welch replies.

“Yes ma’am,” the woman says.

“So, what in the Bible tells you that—?,” Welch beings to ask, before getting cut off by the apparent Boone’s camp employee.

“Well, I don’t want to argue my faith,” the woman says.“No, that’s fine,” Welch replies.

“We just don’t participate,” the woman says.

“Okay,” Welch responds.

“We just choose not to,” the woman continues.

“Okay. So that’s your Christian belief, right?,” Welch asks.

“Yes ma’am.”

Welch says she believes the venue found out her brother and his fiancée, whose names she has not provided to DSV, through Facebook.

“The owner took a look at my brother’s fiancée’s page and wrote her back to say they won’t be able to get married there because of her beliefs, He told my mom and she contacted the owner through messenger to only get a ‘seen’ with no reply. That’s when I took it upon myself to go get clarification on her beliefs.”

Katelynn Springsteen, also claims the venue refused to offer its services to a lesbian couple last year.

“I was trying to find my best friend, who is lesbian, a wedding venue. I was immediately shot down when I was asked if they were okay with a gay wedding,” Springsteen said.

FRC Hate Group Leader Tony Perkins: The Equality Act Will Destroy The 1st. Amendment

FRC Hate Group Leader Tony Perkins: Pray Against Pelosi and the LGBT Equality Act

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Via press release from FRC hate group leader Tony Perkins:

The Democrats, who won control of the House of Representatives, voted to elect Nancy Pelosi as Speaker. The liberal Democratic party leader will be second in succession to the President, after Vice President Mike Pence.

Pelosi has a reputation for toughness. Despite the checks and balances of a 53-seat Republican majority in the Senate and President Trump’s veto power, Pelosi will still have a great deal of power. In fact, Pelosi promised back in October that the introduction and passage of the Equality Act that was introduced in 2018 with 198 co-sponsors (which included two Republicans) would be a top priority in 2019 and would be introduced early.

The Equality Act would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include “sex,” “sexual orientation,” and “gender identity” among expressly-recognized “non-discrimination” categories in “public accommodations,” require employers with 15 or more employees to recognize the claimed “gender identity” of those who identify as transgender, and require employers to allow those who identify as transgender to “access” opposite-sex restrooms, locker rooms, and dressing rooms.

Father, please open the eyes of all Americans to understand that religious liberty, which our original 13 states demanded be included as our first freedom in the Bill of Rights, must be honored above behavior which is immoral. Lord, expose the underlying intent of this effort — to punish Christians and others with a biblical view of marriage and human sexuality, and so to set a precedent from which to expand their persecutions under the guise of law. Deliver us, O God! (Ex 20:3; Ps 86:6-10; Dan 3:16-18; 6:10; Mt 5:10-12; Gal 5:1,13; Eph 4:1-6; Jude 3-25)

The only 2 GOP sponsors will not be returning to Congress in January and the LGBTEA has little to no chance of becoming law with the Senate being controlled by the GOP and with Trump as president.

Mike Pence Speaks at FRC Hate Group's Values Voter Summit, Touts "Religious Freedom" - VIDEO

Mike Pence Speaks at FRC Hate Group’s Values Voter Summit, Touts “Religious Freedom” – VIDEO

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Last night Vice President Mike Pence spoke at the Values Voter Summit, an annual D.C. confab for “social conservatives” (i.e. Republican religious extremist”) hosted by the anti-LGBT hate group the Family Research Council. Pence touted President Trump’s actions in favor of “religious freedom” —  as reasons for why conservative voters should turn out in the congressional mid-term elections to back Republican candidates and the Trump administration.

Our administration has also taken action to protect and promote our first freedom, the freedom of religion and religious liberty for every American. Last year President Trump chose the National Day of Prayer to announce new policies to protect the religious liberty of every American regardless of their creed. We’ve taken action to protect the conscience rights of doctors and nurses.”

Pence also alluded to further actions in favor of “religious freedom,” predicting Brett Kavanaugh will soon “will soon be Justice Brett Kavanaugh” upon confirmation by the U.S. Senate and issue rulings in line with social conservative thought.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh is a man of integrity with impeccable credentials and a proven judicial philosophy,” Pence said. “On the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, he wrote more than 300 opinions that reflect a strong record of support for limited government, religious liberty and our Second Amendment. He’s a conservative who will interpret the Constitution as written, and his record and career deserves the respect of every member of the United States Senate.”

You can watch Pence’s speech in its entirety below:

 

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Democrats Introduce Bill To Amend the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to Protect LGBT Americans

Democrats Introduce Bill To Amend the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to Protect LGBT Americans

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Senate Democrats introduced a bill Tuesday that would amend the 25-year-old Religious Freedom Restoration Act to prevent the law from being used to justify discrimination against people, including gay, lesbian and transgender citizens.

Though it is unlikely to pass in the Republican-controlled Congress, the Democrats’ bill, called the Do No Harm Act, shows the party’s stance toward a thorny question in the hands of the Supreme Court — how to choose when both LGBT people and conservative Christians feel their civil rights are at risk.

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, commonly referred to as RFRA was enacted in 1993. Initially, it was usually referenced in cases involving practitioners of minority religions, such as Sikhs and Muslims seeking the right to wear their religious headgear in their driver’s license photos. But in recent years, it has become a favorite law among conservative Christians, who try to use it toi “protect” their “religious rights” discriminate against the GLBT community.

The Supreme Court is considering the case of a Christian cake baker, who says he should have the religious freedom to refuse to make a cake for a gay wedding. (Florists, photographers and an Indiana pizza shop have made similar claims.)

The Democrats’ bill would amend RFRA to say that it does not protect the religious liberty of one person when the civil rights of another would be impinged. “While our country was founded on the value of religious liberty, that freedom cannot come at the expense of others’ civil rights,” Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said in a statement.

The sponsors of the Senate bill include Hirono and Sens. Tammy Baldwin (Wis.), Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), Kamala D. Harris (Calif.), Patrick J. Leahy (Vt.), Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), Edward J. Markey (Mass.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) and Ron Wyden (Ore.).

The bill would add text to the 1993 law specifying that RFRA cannot counteract civil rights laws, employment law, protections against child abuse or access to health care.

Trump Signs Executive Order to Protect "Religious Freedom" and Help Promote LGBT Discrimination

Trump Signs Executive Order to Protect “Religious Freedom” and Help Promote LGBT Discrimination – READ THE EO

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Many of you may have missed this news yesterday but during the annual National Day of Prayer commemoration at the White House, Donald Trump signed the latest executive order of his presidency, to establish a faith-based office, the White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative. He said it would focus on protecting “religious freedom” and ensuring that “the faith-based and community organizations that form the bedrock of our society have strong advocates in the White House and throughout the federal government.”

The initiative will be led by a newly appointed White House adviser to the group and will be supported by various faith leaders from outside the federal government. The order also aims to ensure faith based organizations have “equal access to government funding and equal right to exercise their deeply held beliefs.

Based on it’s content the new “faith initiative” seems to be actively seeking out opportunities to facilitate discrimination. and —will “consult with” religious leaders who can provide “expertise” on issues including “poverty alleviation,” “religious liberty,” and “strengthening marriage and family”—and then make “recommendations to the President.”

The initiative will also be required to inform the attorney general’s office “of concerns raised by faith-based and community organizations” about perceived violations of “religious liberty” protections.

It will also require any executive agencies that do not currently have a faith-based initiative to establish a “point of contact” who can “coordinate with the [initiative’s] Advisor in carrying out this order.”

Read the “White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative” Executive Order below:

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and to assist faith-based and other organizations in their efforts to strengthen the institutions of civil society and American families and communities, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1.  Policy.  Faith-based and community organizations have tremendous ability to serve individuals, families, and communities through means that are different from those of government and with capacity that often exceeds that of government.  These organizations lift people up, keep families strong, and solve problems at the local level.  The executive branch wants faith-based and community organizations, to the fullest opportunity permitted by law, to compete on a level playing field for grants, contracts, programs, and other Federal funding opportunities.  The efforts of faith-based and community organizations are essential to revitalizing communities, and the Federal Government welcomes opportunities to partner with such organizations through innovative, measurable, and outcome-driven initiatives.

Sec. 2.  Amendments to Executive Orders.  (a)  Executive Order 13198 of January 29, 2001 (Agency Responsibilities With Respect to Faith-Based and Community Initiatives), Executive Order 13279 of December 12, 2002 (Equal Protection of the Laws for Faith-Based and Community Organizations), as amended by Executive Order 13559 of November 17, 2010 (Fundamental Principles and Policymaking Criteria for Partnerships with Faith-Based and Other Neighborhood Organizations), Executive Order 13280 of December 12, 2002 (Responsibilities of the Department of Agriculture and the Agency for International Development With Respect to Faith-Based and Community Initiatives), Executive Order 13342 of June 1, 2004 (Responsibilities of the Departments of Commerce and Veterans Affairs and the Small Business Administration with Respect to Faith-Based and Community Initiatives), and Executive Order 13397 of March 7, 2006 (Responsibilities of the Department of Homeland Security With Respect to Faith-Based and Community Initiatives), are hereby amended by:

(i)    substituting “White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative” for “White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives” each time it appears in those orders;

(ii)   substituting “White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative” for “White House OFBCI” each time it appears in those orders;

(iii)  substituting “Centers for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives” for “Centers for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives” each time it appears in those orders; and

(iv)   substituting “White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative” for “Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships” each time it appears in those orders.

     (b)  Executive Order 13279, as amended, is further amended by striking section 2(h) and redesignating sections 2(i) and 2(j) as sections 2(h) and 2(i), respectively.

Sec. 3.  White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative.  (a)  There is established within the Executive Office of the President the White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative (Initiative).

(i)    The Initiative shall be headed by an Advisor to the White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative (Advisor).  The Advisor shall be housed in the Office of Public Liaison and shall work with that office and the Domestic Policy Council, in consultation with the Centers for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives established by Executive Order 13198, Executive Order 13280, Executive Order 13342, and Executive Order 13397, to implement this order.

(ii)   The Initiative shall, from time to time and consistent with applicable law, consult with and seek information from experts and various faith and community leaders from outside the Federal Government, including those from State, local, and tribal governments, identified by the Office of Public Liaison, the Domestic Policy Council, and the Centers for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives.  These experts and leaders shall be identified based on their expertise in a broad range of areas in which faith-based and community organizations operate, including poverty alleviation, religious liberty, strengthening marriage and family, education, solutions for substance abuse and addiction, crime prevention and reduction, prisoner reentry, and health and humanitarian services.

(iii)  The Advisor shall make recommendations to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, regarding changes to policies, programs, and practices that affect the delivery of services by faith-based and community organizations.

(iv)   Executive departments and agencies (agencies) that lack a Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiative shall designate a Liaison for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives as a point of contact to coordinate with the Advisor in carrying out this order.

(v)    All agencies shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide such information, support, and assistance to the Initiative as it may request to develop public policy proposals.

     (b)  To the extent permitted by law, the Initiative shall:

(i)    periodically convene meetings with the individuals described in section 3(a)(ii) of this order;

(ii)   periodically convene meetings with representatives from the Centers for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives and other representatives from across agencies as the Advisor may designate;

(iii)  provide recommendations regarding aspects of my Administration’s policy agenda that affect faith-based and community programs and initiatives;

(iv)   help integrate those aspects of my Administration’s policy agenda that affect faith-based and other community organizations throughout the Federal Government;

(v)    showcase innovative initiatives by faith-based and community organizations that serve and strengthen individuals, families, and communities throughout the United States;

(vi)   notify the Attorney General, or his designee, of concerns raised by faith-based and community organizations about any failures of the executive branch to comply with protections of Federal law for religious liberty as outlined in the Attorney General’s Memorandum of October 6, 2017 (Federal Law Protections for Religious Liberty), issued pursuant to Executive Order 13798 of May 4, 2017 (Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty); and

(vii)  identify and propose means to reduce, in accordance with Executive Order 13798 and the Attorney General’s Memorandum of October 6, 2017, burdens on the exercise of religious convictions and legislative, regulatory, and other barriers to the full and active engagement of faith-based and community organizations in Government-funded or Government-conducted activities and programs.

Sec. 4.  Revocation of Executive Orders.  Executive Order 13199 of January 29, 2001 (Establishment of White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives), and Executive Order 13498 of February 5, 2009 (Amendments to Executive Order 13199 and Establishment of the President’s Advisory Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships), are hereby revoked.

Sec. 5.  General Provisions.  (a)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i)   the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii)  the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

     (b)  This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c)  This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

DONALD J. TRUMP

 

The Denver Post, GOP, Republicans, revenge, cake, same sex marriage, civil rights, discrimination, religious freedom

Colorado GOP’s Vote To Defund Civil Rights Commission That Ruled Against Anti-Gay “Christian” Baker

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Via The Denver Post:

Republican members of a powerful budget committee in the legislature on Thursday voted to withhold funding for the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, a move that could be revisited but which quickly stoked political outcry from Democrats and the LGBT community.

State Sen. Kevin Lundberg, a Berthoud Republican who sits on the Joint Budget Committee, which held up the funding, said he voted to withhold money for the commission — which operates under the the Colorado Civil Rights Division — because he is waiting to see if lawmakers vote to renew the law to authorize the commission’s existence (which is coming this session).

“This is the commission who ruled against Masterpiece Cake, and now the U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing that decision,” Lundberg said in a Facebook post. “My argument against approving their funding today is we need to wait and see what the legislature does with the renewal of the law authorizing the commission, which is up for sunset review in this session.”

 

Log Cabin Republicans, where are you now? This is your party.

Choke on your cake you bitches.

 

The Denver Post, GOP, Republicans, revenge, cake, same sex marriage, civil rights, discrimination, religious freedom

Trump Administration’s DOJ Files Brief Supporting LGBT Discrimination In SCOTUS Cake Case

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In a major upcoming Supreme Court case that weighs equal rights with “religious liberty”, the Trump administration on Thursday sided with a Colorado baker who refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

In July 2012, David Mullins and Charlie Craig went to Denver’s Masterpiece Cake Shop, owned by Jack Phillips (above) ,  looking for a cake to celebrate the couple’s upcoming nuptials.

Phillips denied the couple’s request and later admitted he had turned away other same-sex couples as a matter of policy.

In 2013, a judge ruled against Phillips. The Colorado Civil Rights Division’s [CCRD’s] decision noted evidence in the record that Phillips had expressed willingness to take a cake order for the “marriage” of two dogs, but not for the commitment ceremony of two women, and that he would not make a cake for a same-sex couple’s wedding celebration “just as he would not be willing to make a pedophile cake.”

Phillips and his lawyers,  anti-gay legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, have been appealing the ruling since, and losing

The L.A. Times reports:

Acting Solicitor Gen. Jeffrey B. Wall filed a friend-of-the-court brief arguing that the cake maker’s rights to free speech and the free exercise of religion should prevail over a Colorado civil rights law that forbids discrimination based on sexual orientation.

“A custom wedding cake is a form of expression,” he said. “It is an artistic creation that is both subjectively intended and objectively perceived as a celebratory symbol of a marriage.” And as such, the baker has a free-speech right under the 1st Amendment to refuse to “express” his support for a same-sex marriage, Wall argued.

The case of the Colorado cake maker has emerged as the latest battle in the culture wars. It is a clash between the religious rights of a conservative Christian against gay rights and equal treatment for same-sex couples.

The DOJ’s decision to support Phillips is the latest in a series of steps the Trump administration has taken to rescind Obama administration positions favorable to gay rights and to advance new policies on the issue.

Read the brief here.

Trump Continues Attacks On LGBT’s, Appoints Vicious Homophobe Sam Brownback as Religious Freedom Ambassador

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In another move of the Trump administration’s coordinated attack on the LGBT community. Sam Brownback, the vehemently anti-gay and beleaguered governor of Kansas whose aggressively conservative fiscal polices and anti-lgbt rhetoric have turned many in Washington against him, will be nominated to serve as ambassador at large for international religious freedom, the White House said in a statement on Wednesday.

 On Twitter, Mr. Brownback wrote on Wednesday: “Religious Freedom is the first freedom. The choice of what you do with your own soul. I am honored to serve such an important cause.”

 In the ambassadorship, Mr. Brownback would lead the Office of International Religious Freedom, which is under the umbrella of the State Department and charged with promoting religious freedom as a foreign policy objective.

 Brownback will leave Kansas at a time of uncertainty over funding for public education.

 “He leaves behind a legacy of failed leadership,” said State Representative Melissa Rooker, a moderate Republican who has frequently opposed Mr. Brownback’s policies.

 In 2015 Brownback rescinded rules in Kansas that had protected state workers from discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.  In 2016 Brownback also signed into law an anti-gay “religious liberty” bill SB 175 on that is tantamount to a legislative attack on LGBT college students and issued an unnecessary and insulting executive order in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision that made same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states. “protecting”  clergy from being from performing or recognizing gay marriages.

Representative Jim Ward, the Democratic leader in the Kansas House, said he was “not surprised” to hear of the appointment, which has been rumored in Topeka for months.

“I’m not going to miss him,” Mr. Ward said. “He has left a state in carnage and destruction.”