“Civil Unions” law cynically named “Religious Freedom Protection Act” now used to force Christians to violate their moral conscience
Jim and Beth Walder and their five children. The Walder's, owners of a Paxton, Illinois bed and breakfast, believe homosexuality is sinful and do not allow "civil union" ceremonies to be held at their establishment. Because of that they now potentially face years of litigation after a homosexual activist couple filed a legal complaint againt them with state authorities.
Dear AFTAH Readers,
On Tuesday, March 1, I and an AFTAH volunteer visited Jim Walder, who with his wife Beth is owner of the Timber Creek Bed & Breakfast [e-mail: info@timbercreekbb.com] in Paxton, Illinois and the latest victim of the homosexualist legal-political agenda in the United States. Below is an article by my friend Laurie Higgins of Illinois Family Institute about how Walder and another Illinois bed & breakfast owner are being sued by a homosexual activist couple because they will not allow a same-sex “civil union” ceremony to be held at their establishments.
The well-financed, big-city “gay” agenda is rolling into small town USA, and it will crush religious freedom in its path if it is not defeated. Paxton is a quiet farming community in central Illinois with a population of 4,600 – and here it is embroiled in the “culture war” battle of our day: whether homosexuals’ supposed “right” to have their sexual lifestyle and relationships affirmed supersedes moral-minded citizens’ First Amendment right to disagree with sexual immorality. (And their right to live out their beliefs: freedoms for beliefs that must be kept “personal and private” and that cannot be acted upon are not real freedoms.)
Here’s the bitter irony: the law being used by the homosexual couple attempting to force Walder and all Illinois B&B owners to allow homosexual “union” ceremonies on their property was named the “Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act.” It doesn’t get much more cynical and dishonest than that; no wonder Americans don’t trust politicians.
Walder is being represented by Alliance Defense Fund, and he is not doing interviews at this time, but his disturbing case classically illustrates why “sexual orientation” laws — especially combined with “civil union” or “gay marriage” laws — are so dangerous to our God-given liberties, and why they must be repealed. Legal “rights” based on changeable, aberrant and unhealthly sexual misbehavior (sin) are destined to collide with genuine First Amendment liberties, which are rooted not in government but in God Himself.
Illinois' Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn signed the ironically named "Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act" into law Jan. 31. Photo: Peter LaBarbera, Americans For Truth.
As Gary Glenn correctly said in my recent interview with him — confirmed by homosexual legal activist and Obama appointee Chai Feldblum below – pro-homosexual “sexual orientation” laws naturally discriminate against people of faith. A few weeks ago, Jim and Beth Walder hadn’t given that much thought. Now they and their family (see photo below) are living out this painful reality caused by modern secular liberalism. All who cherish religious freedom and American liberty must stand with the Walder’s. AFTAH will closely follow this story. God bless you. – Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org; copy me with your encouraging notes to Jim and Beth at americansfortruth@gmail.com.
TAKE ACTION:
Please pray for the Walder’s;
Send Jim and Beth a note of encouragement (info@timbercreekbb.com) and pass this article on to your friends and family. Better yet, stay a night or two at the Timber Creek Bed & Breakfast in Paxton (it is wonderful and comes highly recommended);
Write or call Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and urge her to respect the Walders’ freedoms of religion and association; and
Inside llinois: call your Illinois state representative and senator (217-782-2000) and educate them on the Walder’s victimization at the hands of aggressive “gay” activists, and urge them to REPEAL both the Illinois “sexual orientation” law and the “civil unions” law – each of which was passed in a lame-duck session and signed into law by Democratic governors. Outside Illinois: call your federal, state and local representatives and urge them to oppose ALL homosexuality-based “sexual orientation” legislation because the evidence is in: these laws will destroy religious freedom in America.
AFTAH in the news: Chili’s is proud “National Corporate Sponsor” of extreme homosexual group
Chili's, owned by Brinker International, is a "National Corporate Parter" of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, which celebrates gender confusion and sadomasochism.
Reprinted from One News Now, the news website of the American Family Association; to listen to this report, click the “play” arrow next to the audio icon at the upper right of the story on the ONN site:
By Charlie Butts – OneNewsNow – 2/4/2011 4:45:00 AM
Christian activist Peter LaBarbera is calling attention to a popular restaurant chain’s association with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
Homosexual activists called for a boycott of Chick-fil-A restaurants after a Pennsylvania franchise provided box-lunches for a recent seminar encouraging traditional marriage (see earlier ONN article). The national chain and many of its franchise owners across the U.S. have pledged to contribute to everything from marriage seminars to retreats and counseling for its employees.
LaBarbera, founder of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, argues that Chick-fil-A is a fine Christian company and suggests that a boycott of the company is absurd. But he points out that another popular restaurant — Chili’s — supports the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, which he says promotes polyamory, the practice of having more than one open romantic relationship at a time.
In a full-page ad in today’s Washington Times, a group of conservative leaders say they are deeply troubled by the direction of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) – which opens on February 10. Click HERE to see the ad as it appears in today’s Washington Times” (including a list of signers).
Vision America President Pastor Rick Scarborough, who initiated the project, noted: “For the third year in a row, GOProud will be participate in CPAC. GOProud seeks repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, without which judges will ultimately legislate homosexual ‘marriage.’ Last year, GOProud advocated for homosexuals serving openly in the military, which will devastate our armed forces and sacrifice unit cohesion on the altar of ‘inclusiveness.’”
Some of the most prominent conservative groups and leaders are boycotting CPAC, due at least in part to the presence of GOProud. They include American Family Association, Liberty Counsel, Family Research Council, the Heritage Foundation, Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sen. Jim DeMint and Sean Hannity.
“Ronald Reagan spoke at CPAC in 1977. But would Reagan be comfortable at CPAC 2011?” Scarborough asked. “Our 40th president spoke of conservatism’s three-legged stool, economic, defense and social (family values) issues. Remove one, and the entire structure collapses.”
Note: here is a previous AFTAH article on homosexuality-affirming apostate Jay Bakker:“The Latest Bakker Scandal”. We hope Jay repents and gets back to defending Bible truth rather than subverting it. (Did you know that God spoke personally to Jay and told him that homosexuality is not a sin? Quick, launch a massive recall of all those “homophobic” Bibles so they can be updated with Bakker’s politically correct “truth”!) And don’t get me started on confused Wheaton College alum Cathleen Falsani, praised HERE by renegade “evangelical” Brian McLaren (never a good sign). Phil Magnan is right on below: God does not enable sin but in His great love and mercy helps repentant sinners overcome it [listen to our interview with former homosexual DL Foster HERE]. Those who shill for “gay christianity” (small ‘c’) are denying Jesus Christ’s – God’s –power to transform the lives of humbled sexual sinners. – Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org
It isn’t as though you want to throw stones at this guy. I truly pity Jay Bakker and the people he met in this article in the liberal Huffington Post. Bakker, the son of the past televangelist, Jim Bakker, is so lost in his interpretation of what grace really means. If you read the article, it’s an eye opener of what we are up against — in which, so-called preachers are leading others into sin. Bakker pastors his own church but according to this article, he is sliding into apostasy with the best of intentions.
You can tell that the “drag” crowd about which Bakker writes yearn to be accepted, but on their terms and not on God’s terms. Jesus came into the world to call sinners to repentance; not acceptance to live in sin. We truly need to reach out to the lost, including the homosexual community. But real love does not rejoice in unrighteousness, it rejoices in the truth. (1 Corinthians 13:6)
You see, when people live in the real truth, it will set them free! But when you think that grace leads you to sin more, you do not have grace at all. In fact, Jesus said He would declare that He never knew us if we embrace sin. There is no question that we all want grace and forgiveness from God; but the grace He gives enables and teaches us to deny ungodliness.
As the scripture says in Titus 2:11-15; “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority Let no one disregard you.”
These false shepherds are leading people into sin as they have transformed the grace of God into license for sin. As Jude 1:4 affirms: “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
Part Two of my interview with Barb Anderson of the Minnesota Family Council [listen HERE]. This was pre-taped and aired December 4, 2010. Anderson discusses how comprehensive sex-ed teaches the “how-to’s” of sex in a valueless vacuum, rather than guiding students on how and why to be abstinent until marriage. And due to the ideology of “inclusion,” dangerous practices like anal sex and “rimming” (mouth-anus “sex”) are specifically mentioned in some public sex-ed curriculum. “Rimming” is a repulsive act practiced by many homosexuals, and now by some perverted heterosexuals; you won’t believe this pornographic Wikipedia entry on it [Warning: highly offensive and graphic; Wikipedia is widely used by young students]. Insanely, children are being taught on how to practice this “safely.” It is astonishing that America went from teaching children the Bible in government schools to now instructing them about various disease-producing perversions — to be practiced in heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual or transgended relationships (with no judgments allowed as to which is normal or superior). And then we wonder why America is sliding downhill morally. Part Three of the Anderson interview will air Dec. 18 due to a scheduling delay. – Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org
HOW TO LISTEN: This is an mp3 file. Left click once on the link below to play. (Please be patient, depending upon the speed of your internet connection it may take a moment or two to load.) OR right click the link then “save target as” to download the whole show.
Following release of the Pentagon’s Comprehensive Review Working Group (CRWG) report on the issue of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders in the military, Elaine Donnelly, President of the Center for Military Readiness, issued the following statement:
“At a time of growing uncertainty and concern about America’s national security, it is unsettling to see Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen devoting so many hours this week to well-orchestrated but superficial media events designed to deliver on President Obama’s political campaign promises to the LGBT Left. Yesterday’s briefings were quite a show and they gave it their best shot. The grim faces of Mullen and Gates, however, betrayed an inconvenient truth: The CRWG Report does not mention a single beneficial result of repealing the 1993 law, which would strengthen recruiting, retention, and readiness in the All-Volunteer Force.
“Instead, Secretary Gates and Adm. Mullen let down the troops by demanding involuntary acceptance of unnecessary burdens that disregard the normal human desire for privacy and modesty in sexual matters. Elevating unrealistic theories over practical experience, yesterday’s presenters tried but failed to divert attention from information buried in the report. Page 74, for example, reports that ‘Nearly 60% of respondents in the Marine Corps and in Army combat arms said they believed there would be a negative impact on their unit’s effectiveness in this context; among Marine combat arms the number was 67%.’
Elaine Donnelly testifies against homosexualizing the military in the name of "nondiscrimination." Donnelly cautions that few lawmakers realize the radical changes that would result from opening up the Armed Forces to homosexuals -- including the persecution of moral-minded servicemembers and chaplains.
TAKE ACTION: Elaine Donnelly rightly warns in an interview with AFTAH of the devastating impact of Obama’s plan to homosexualize our military. Have you contacted both your U.S. Senators to oppose repealing the military’s common-sense homosexuality ban? Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) says he has the votes to move forward on a Defense bill containing the repeal measure. A repeal vote by the lame-duck Senate could come any time after Dec. 1. Call 202-224-3121 or go to www.Congress.org to make your voice heard!
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This interview [click HERE to listen] with Center for Military Readiness founder and president Elaine Donnelly aired Nov. 20, 2010, and was recorded Nov. 17. As the leading proponent of maintaining the military’s common-sense ban on homosexuality, Donnelly more than any other American has fought debilitating “politically correct” agendas in the Armed Forces. In this discussion, she covers:
the unforeseen harm to good order and discipline that would result from allowing open homosexuals in the military;
how the Pentagon working group report on the repeal of the “gay” ban is a thinly-veiled tool to advance President Obama’s radical plan to homosexualize the miltary;
how the Obama administration led by Defense Sec. Robert Gates has politicized the investigations of homosexual soldiers violating the existing homosexual ban — effectively neutralizing the law;
why “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is NOT the law of the land;
how pro-homosexual diversity sessions and policies would be foisted on the conservative military culture to enforce “sexual orientation nondiscrimination”;
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