Thomas More Law Center promises “game changer” in new “national strategy to defend traditional marriage”

SEXUAL IMMORALITY IS NOT A “CIVIL RIGHT”: Pastor Emery Moss (L.), Pastor Danny Holliday, and Evangelist Janet Boynes (a former lesbian) listen during Thomas More press conference announcing national strategy to defend marriage. Said Holliday: “We all know that the 14th Amendment was made because Black folk were considered as property. Gays have never been considered as property.”

The Thomas More Law Center (TMLC), a national, nonprofit public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, MI held a press conference yesterday to reveal its national legal strategy to combat the slew of recent federal court rulings which have overturned state laws defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

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A Game Changer—Thomas More Law Center Reveals National Strategy to Defend Traditional Marriage

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, disclosed that a legal team has been formed to file friend-of-the-court briefs (amicus briefs) on behalf of a Coalition of African-American pastors and Christian leaders. The legal team consists of the Law Center’s senior trial counsel, Erin Mersino, and co-counsels William R. Wagner and John S. Kane of Lansing, MI.

Thompson explained, “In its briefs, the Law Center reflects the voice of a majority of African-Americans that discrimination because of one’s sexual preference is not the same thing as racial discrimination and that tradition and morality should not be discarded as a basis of the law; as the pro-homosexual judges have done in their opinions.”

Several pastors representing the African-American community spoke at the press conference, including Bishop Samuel Smith, and Pastors Danny Holliday and Emery Moss. Evangelist Janet Boynes, a former lesbian and a member of the group, also spoke. In eloquent and at times fiery words, they all defended the definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

Is homosexuality compatible with Christianity? Can you be proudly “gay” and Christian? How do I reach out to my ‘gay’ friends without compromising the Gospel?

“Gay Christianity”—or a new apostasy? Dr. Michael Brown will address the hot topic of “Can you be ‘gay’ and Christian?” as the keynote speaker at Americans For Truth’s dinner-banquet Saturday, Oct. 25, at Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights IL. Doors open at 5:30; dinner is at 6:30. To sign up online for just $20/person, go to AFTAH.org/donate/; or mail you check to: AFTAH, PO Box 5522, Naperville, IL 60567-5522. Tickets are $25 dollars at the door. Click HERE for a PDF Flier about the banquet. To watch a video of Dr. Brown’s amazing life story, see: “From LSD to Phd.”

[PRINTABLE BANQUET FLIER: [click HERE]

AFTAH Banquet Web Page: [click HERE]

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Americans For Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH) is excited to host Dr. Michael Brown to keynote our Oct. 25 “Teaching Banquet” built around the theme of Dr. Brown’s new book, “Can You Be Gay and Christian?: Responding With Love and Truth to Questions About Homosexuality.” Please bring your friends and family to this information-packed event at Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights, IL.

This is an excellent opportunity to teach adults young and old who are confused about homosexuality and “gay marriage.” They will hear Dr. Brown and our outstanding team of speakers answer such tough questions as:

• Are people ‘born gay’?
• How should I answer when an LGBT advocate says “Jesus never said anything about homosexuality”?
• What do I say when I’m accused of “judging” my friends living a homosexual lifestyle?
• What is the best response when pro-homosexual “marriage” activists say: “How does a loving and committed ‘gay’ couple’s same-sex marriage affect YOUR marriage?”
• What is the best way to reach out in love to my homosexual friends and family members—without compromising the Gospel?

[More on Dr. Brown: Dr. Brown is an American treasure. To watch a video about Dr. Brown’s amazing life story, watch “From LSD to Phd”]Read his excellent column, ‘No One is Born Gay.” To read Brown’s column on Houston lesbian Mayor Annise Parker’s effort to subpoena the sermon notes of five local pastors, see his column: “Mayor Parker, City Attorney Feldman: You Will Not Put Us in the Closet.“]

ESSENTIALS:

WHO: Dr. Michael Brown, author, “Can You Be Gay and Christian?: Responding with LOVE & TRUTH to Questions About Homosexuality” ; also, ex-“gay” leader Stephen Black and Mission America president Linda Harvey will be speaking. And AFTAH President Peter LaBarbera will discuss his upcoming “Free Speech” trial in Canada, which almost BANNED him from entering that country on the basis that he would “incite hate.”

WHEN: Saturday, October 25; doors open at 5:30 PM; dinner served at 6:30.

WHERE: Christian Liberty Academy, 502 W. Euclid Ave., Arlington Heights, IL 60004

COST: Tickets are only $20/person in advance (payment received by Oct. 24) or $25 at the door. Dinner is included. Table Sponsorship: just $200 for a table of 10. Sign up online at our AFTAH Donate Page [credit card form HERE] or mail your check to:
AFTAH, PO Box 5522, Naperville, IL 60567-5522.

THEME: “Can You Be Proudly ‘Gay’ and Christian? A Teaching Banquet on Homosexuality and the Church”

PDF Banquet Flier: [Click HERE]; AFTAH Banquet Web Page: [Click HERE]

Phone: 312-324-3787; E-mail to RSVP: americansfortruth[at]gmail.com; or email Brad Wallace at connops[at]yahoo.com.

Michael L. Brown holds a PhD from New York University in Near Eastern languages and literatures, and is recognized as one of the leading Messianic Jewish scholars in the world today. In addition to his latest book debunking “gay Christianity,” Dr. Brown is author of “A Queer Thing Happened to America,” a 691-page book on the LGBT agenda. He is the founder and president of FIRE School of Ministry and host of the nationally syndicated talk radio show The Line of Fire. The author of more than 20 books, Dr. Brown is a contributor to The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion and other scholarly publications.

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Changed Man: Former homosexual turned family man Stephen Black of First Stone Ministries will be attending AFTAH’s banquet Sat., Oct. 25 at Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights, IL. The keynote speaker is Dr. Michael Brown, author of “Can You Be ‘Gay’ and Christian?”

** UPDATE**: Two More Christian Leaders to Speak

Former homosexual (ex-”gay”) leader Stephen Black (right) of First Stone Ministries, based in Oklahoma City, will be attending our banquet. Stephen will offer his observations on the downfall of the ex-”gay” umbrella group Exodus International under false teaching–and the rise of Restored Hope Network to take its place as offering the hope of change for men and women struggling with homosexuality.

Also, Linda Harvey of Columbus-based Mission America–a leading Christian expert on the homosexual-bisexual-transgender agenda in schools–will be on hand at the banquet! Harvey will be signing her book, “Maybe He’s Not Gay: Another View on Homosexuality.” Also, Linda has now added a Study Guide to her book that is ideal for small group discussions and Bible studies.

Said AFTAH’s Peter LaBarbera:

“We are thrilled to have these two national pro-family leaders joining Dr. Brown at our banquet to answer your questions about the homosexual activist agenda and the “gay” campaign to subvert Christianity. If you are perplexed about how to respond to ubiquitous media propaganda surrounding homosexual ‘marriage’– and the new ‘gay Christian’ campaign to accommodate homosexuality–come and bring a friend or two to CLA this Saturday evening, October 25. You will leave better equipped to speak God’s truth in love in the culture!”

Mission America leader Linda Harvey–author of “What If He’s Not Gay?” and an expert on the homosexual activist youth agenda–will be at the AFTAH banquet.

AFTAH received this lovely little note yesterday. It refers to my upcoming trial October 29 with Canadian pro-family activist Bill Whatcott, as a result of our arrest at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan–for engaging in a peaceful protest against abortion and homosexual activism. If I had a quarter for every nasty note like this sent to AFTAH, we’d raise some serious money for our Truth ministry! I replied to this fellow (whose name is probably not “Mark Barnard”), but he did not reply back. God bless. –Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH

P.S. I will be returning to Canada for the trial Oct. 29. But even if we lose the case, which is all about freedom of speech and religion in Canada with its odious “hate propaganda” law, it is highly unlikely that I will receive jail time, although Bill certainly could.

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Mark Barnard	12:14 AM (15 hours ago)	markbarnard@comcast.net
to me [AFTAH]

 The following message was sent from the Americans for Truth Web site:

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If you go to jail, just say nothing. If you are compelled to say something, you are likely going to be made an example of. Use larger and larger objects in your anus. This will make it less painful when they play with you. They will be heterosexuals penetrating you. The guards will have a good laugh at their dinner break. I get the sense you might be looking forward to it. Mark

President Obama signing two Executive Orders advancing homosexual and transgender “rights.” One adds “gender identity” to the existing federal nondiscrimination policy (joining “sexual orientation”). The other–addressed by Dr. Michael Brown below–compels federal contractors to abide by federal pro-LGBT nondiscrimination mandates. Obama declined to include a strong religious exemption in the latter Order. Photo: White House; click to enlarge.

The following is excerpted from an online appeal by pro-family author and advocate, Dr. Michael Brown to President Obama, in response to Obama signing an Executive Order designed to advance “gay rights”–and which is bereft of a strong religious exemptions as requested by a coalition of religious leaders. Dr. Brown–whose book A Queer Thing Happened to America is essential reading for those hoping to understand the far-reaching LGBT agenda–will be the keynote speaker at AFTAH’s banquet October 25th at Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights, Illinois. This article first appeared in Charisma magazine.

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President Obama, You Have Crossed a Dangerous, Unprecedented Line

9:00AM EDT, 7/22/2014 Michael Brown, Charisma, In the Line of Fire

President Barack Obama on Monday signed an executive order banning “discrimination” by federal contractors against LGBT people, allowing for no religious exemptions of any kind.

I write to you today as a concerned citizen of our great nation, standing as a witness against your historic actions on the morning of July 21, 2014, actions which I hope you will one day repudiate with deep remorse and regret.

I am referring, of course, to your signing an executive order Monday banning “discrimination” by federal contractors against LGBT people, allowing for no religious exemptions of any kind.

This was an outrageous act of discrimination against religion in the name of anti-discrimination—an act of bullying people of faith in the name of the prevention of bullying.

How can you, as a man who professes to be a person of faith and a follower of Jesus, throw religious Americans—in particular Christians—under the bus?

How can you attempt to force Christians, Jews, Muslims and others to violate fundamental aspects of their moral codes in order to appease a small but powerful special interest group, one that is not, in fact, suffering daily economic hardship by being fired from their jobs because of their sexual orientation or expression?

Have you forgotten entirely that our nation was founded on the concept of religious freedom?

Matt Barber

I have two observations about this excellent piece by my friend, Barbwire.com founder, and AFTAH Board Member Matt Barber: 1) I wish all Christians could possess Matt’s resolve in defending Truth; and 2) only a tiny minority of believers understand what is coming down the pike, persecution-wise, from the combination of treating homosexuality as a “civil right” and the court-imposed legalization of “gay marriage.” This is Big Government imposing immorality on us all, and we must fight it with great vigilance. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH.org

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The Coming Christian Revolt

By Matt Barber, July 21, 2014

From behind a smoking sniper rifle high atop his ivory tower peers the secular “progressive.” He surveys his many victims, strewn across the American landscape below and mockingly sneers, “War on Christianity? What war on Christianity?”

He then resumes shooting, all the while insisting that those uncooperative Christians who scatter for cover behind the Word of God and the U.S. Constitution somehow suffer from a “persecution complex” (the baker, the photographer, the florist, the innkeeper, the Christian school administrator, etc.).

Though there are many, it is plain for all to see that abortion and “sexual liberation” remain the two principal theaters in the ongoing culture war battlefront.

To fully advance the causes of radical feminism, abortion-on-demand, unfettered sexual license, gay marriage and the like, the pagan left must do away with religious free exercise altogether. Under the guise of “anti-discrimination,” Christians today face discrimination at unprecedented levels.

Let’s see if we can make this abundantly clear. Christians, true Christians—regenerate, Bible-believing Christians who strive their level best to maintain fidelity to the word of God and honor His commands—will not—indeed cannot—participate in, approve of, facilitate or encourage certain behaviors deemed by the Holy Scriptures to be immoral or sinful.

We at Americans For Truth certainly concur with Tony Perkins: the Democrats are playing a dangerous game by pandering to special interest groups (in this case radical feminists and homosexual activists) who seek to trample over Americans’ religious liberty and freedom of conscience. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 16, 2014
CONTACT: FRC Press Office, through Family Research Council

Conscience Crushing Bill Demonstrates Senate Democrats’ Wrong Priorities

July 16, 2014

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Family Research Council (FRC) urged the U.S. Senate to reject legislation proposed by Senate Democrats that would overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby/Conestoga Wood ruling. The decision upheld religious liberty and protected the conscience rights of those family businesses that object to being forced to pay for drugs that have the potential to kill an unborn child.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins made the following comments:

“The world is falling apart, along with the U.S. economy, and yet Senate Democratic leaders think the future of the free world hinges on employers being forced — under the threat of crippling fines — to provide drugs that have the potential to kill an unborn child.

“Rather than address the problems in the Middle East, grow the GDP, or create jobs, Senate liberals are plowing ahead with their ridiculously unfair mandate that puts the jobs, livelihoods and healthcare of millions of Americans in jeopardy.

“Senate Democrats are insisting that family businesses be given two non-choices: either violate your deeply held moral beliefs and comply by paying for drugs and services to which you object, or pay crippling fines of up to $100 per day, per employee, for non-compliance.

“The Supreme Court Court reaffirmed that freedom of conscience is a long-held American tradition, and said that government cannot impose a law on American citizens that forces them to violate their beliefs in order to hold a job, own a business, or purchase health insurance. Apparently, Senate Democrats have forgotten that in America you have a right to exercise your own conscientious beliefs, and the government doesn’t have the right to trample them,” concluded Perkins.

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Court’s defense of religious liberty for profit-making companies could help Christian small businessmen oppressed by “gay rights” laws

Current U.S. Supreme Court: left to right in back: Sotomayor, Breyer, Alito, Kagan. Front, left to right: Thomas, Scalia, Roberts, Kennedy, Ginsburg. Alito wrote the Hobby Lobby decision, and Kennedy is lionized by “gay” activists for writing last year’s decision striking down DOMA. Click to enlarge.

By Peter LaBarbera

It’s easy to understand why hard-core feminists with their frenzied, overblown “War on Women” rhetoric would be outraged by the Supreme Court upholding Hobby Lobby’s right as a Christian-run corporation not to be forced to provide abortifacients to its employees through an Obama-care mandate. (See Hillary’s misinformation on the decision HERE.) But why are liberal “gay” activists freaking out over the Hobby Lobby ruling?

The case was never about denying women birth control, but you wouldn’t know that from the “reporting” by liberal media and hyperventilating “progressive” bloggers. Hobby Lobby still provides 16 forms of birth control as a health benefit to its employees, but its founders—along with another Christian-owned corporation, Conestoga Wood Specialists—sued HHS over being forced to provide four contraceptive methods that could terminate a fertilized egg.

Hobby Lobby’s founders, David and Barbara Green, are committed Christians who believe that life begins at conception and should be protected. To quote the Court decision, “Hobby Lobby’s statement of purpose commits the Greens to ‘[h]onoring the Lord in all [they] do by operating the company in a manner consistent with Biblical principles.’” So strong is the Greens’ commitment to Jesus Christ that they have lost countless millions of dollars in profits over the years by closing their 500 craft stores nationwide on Sunday.

Now, one would think that obtaining cheap, subsidized contraception would be low on the priority list for homosexuals, seeing that two men or two women by themselves cannot produce a child. Nevertheless, Big Gay Inc is in a tizzy over the Supreme Court decision—because Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby isn’t really about contraceptives but rather whether Americans like the Greens will be free to live out their religious convictions.

Immediately after the decision, feminists flew into a rage, circulating crude versions of Justice Ginsburg’s dissent and distortions about women being denied birth control by their “male bosses.” Too bad most Americans will never read the actual Hobby Lobby decision—which lays out two diametrically opposed, competing visions about freedom of conscience and the role of government in these United States.

Freedom of conscience vs. Big Government

Hobby Lobby’s owners, David and Barbara Green, seek to use their business to glorify Jesus Christ. Their 500 stores across the country are closed on Sundays, costing the Greens many millions of dollars in profits.

On the side of preserving and even expanding Americans’ religious liberty were five judges: Alito, Kennedy, Roberts, Scalia and Thomas. In his concurring opinion Kennedy writes:

“In our constitutional tradition, freedom means that all persons have the right to believe or strive to believe in a divine creator and a divine law. For those who choose this course, free exercise is essential in preserving their own dignity and in striving for a self-definition shaped by their religious precepts. Free exercise in this sense implicates more than just freedom of belief….It means, too, the right to express those beliefs and to establish one’s religious (or non-religious) self-definition in the political, civic, and economic life of our larger community.”

On the other side—of Big Government overriding citizens’ religious beliefs, restricting conscience exemptions to federal mandates, and putting federal power behind expanded access to entitlements–were Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Breyer and Kagan. In fact, Ginsburg spends nearly two pages in her dissent [see pp. 24-25] defending the idea that Obama-care’s provision of subsidies for IUD’s (intrauterine devices) –one of the four contraceptives resisted by Hobby Lobby as a potential abortifacient—is a “compelling government interest.”

As much as Ginsburg believes the majority’s “immoderate” reading of Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) is too broad, hers is too narrow: she ends by arguing that exemptions under the RFRA should be limited to explicitly religious organizations—leaving for-profit Christian businessmen like the Greens unprotected.

The bigger government gets–in both its “social justice” mission and the amount of goodies it gives out as “entitlements”—the greater the threat to Americans’ right to freely exercise their faith. This is precisely why homosexual activists are nervous about Hobby Lobby’s victory. If the nation’s highest court grants that even very large “closely held” family businesses like Hobby Lobby (which has more than 13,000 employees) possess a religious liberty claim under RFRA, then surely small family businesses like Elane Photography in New Mexico—owned by Jonathan and Elaine Huguenin—should have the right not to use their creative talents to serve homosexual “weddings,” which violate their Christian faith.

Suddenly Shy? Why didn’t Gov. Chris Christie praise the Supreme Court decision on Hobby Lobby protecting religious freedom?

The following is taken from Gary Bauer’s daily “End of Day” e-mail sent out today (July 1) through his organization, Campaign for Working Families. Gary has long been one of the best thinkers and most informative writers in the pro-life and pro-family movement. Few conservatives leaders can write like Gary (or hire someone to ghost-write like him!), so if you are conservative or pro-family, I guarantee you will not regret signing up for his daily e-newsletter HERE.

Regarding Chris Christie and the Hobby Lobby SCOTUS decision, isn’t it odd that the outspoken (Republican) New Jersey governor has the audacity to play God by proclaiming that homosexuality not a sin as he signed a freedom-crushing ex-“gay” change therapy ban last year–yet he couldn’t muster up the courage to praise a critical victory for religious freedom at the Supreme Court? I’m no fan of the liberal Huffington Post, and their women-as-victims spin on Hobby Lobby is obnoxious, but they got it at least half right in this piece on Christie’s sudden shyness and craven bully pulpit politics. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH

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The Day After

By Gary Bauer

The left is in full spin mode after the Supreme Court struck down Obamacare’s abortion mandate. Please tell the women in your life that nothing happened yesterday that will deny them access to contraception.

The issue in this case was not contraception. Let me remind folks once again that Hobby Lobby’s insurance policy covered 16 out of 20 forms of contraception. But the owners of Hobby Lobby drew the line at the last four methods, which they believed could cause abortions. And during oral arguments, the Obama Administration actually claimed that it could force companies to pay for abortions.

The issue in this case was individual religious liberty. Consider this statement from Justice Samuel Alito’s majority opinion:

“A corporation is simply a form of organization used by human beings to achieve desired ends. Protecting the free-exercise rights of corporations like Hobby Lobby … protects the religious liberty of the humans who own and control those companies.”

Yesterday’s ruling was a major victory won by a disturbingly slim margin of one vote. Now comes the hard part of winning the debate, which will be difficult in no small measure because of the cowardice of establishment Republicans.