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New law explicitly denies conscience protections for small business owners; LGBT Lobby not appeased — demands full ENDA-type legislation for Indiana
Appeasement Emboldens ‘Gay’ Lobby: Graphic for homosexual activist group Human Rights Campaign demands more pro-homosexual legislation in Indiana following the Republican-led legislature’s and Gov. Mick Pence’s capitulation negating the state’s Religious Freedom law. Click on HRC.org graphic above to enlarge.
By Peter LaBarbera
In a stunning, politically-correct turnaround following a week of LGBT protests and media and business opposition, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence yesterday signed into law a pro-homosexual legislative “fix” of the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)–effectively turning it into Indiana’s first statewide homosexual “rights” law.
The language of the revised RFRA crafted by Indiana’s Republican House and Senate leaders and signed into law by Gov. Pence stipulates that the new RFRA “does not authorize a provider to refuse to offer or provide services, facilities, use of public accommodation, goods, employment, or housing” to any Indiana citizen on the basis of “sexual orientation” and “gender identity”–in addition to the usual criteria such as race, sex and disability. [See the full language HERE.]
When asked specifically at a press conference yesterday if the revised RFRA legislation could be used to defend the besieged owners of an Indiana pizza shop who told a reporter that theoretically they would not serve a homosexual “wedding,” Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma said:
“We can unequivocally say that RFRA cannot be used to discriminate against anyone.”
The law still protects churches and religious, non-profit organizations from being forced to participate in homosexual “weddings”–but not everyday small businessmen like the owners of the Indianapolis cookie stand “Just Cookies.” In 2012, the Christian owners of Just Cookies declined on principle to make “rainbow cookies” for a homosexual student group at Purdue University-Indianapolis. “Gay’ activists led a campaign against the company using Indianapolis’ “sexual orientation” statute; ultimately the owners settled with the city without paying damages. [To read about other conscience victims of the homosexual agenda, see this WND Whistleblower article by the author.]
Our good friend and AFTAH Board Matt Barber just posted the following open letter to Indiana Gov. Mike Pence–concerning proposed changes to the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act–on his excellent website, Barbwire.com. Is it actually possible that we will see a pro-family “religious freedom” law turned into a homosexual “special rights” law in Republican-run Indiana? Let’s pray that this does not happen and that Gov. Pence will not capitulate to the demands of an intolerant Sin Lobby. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH; @PeterLaBarbera
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Dear Governor Pence,
Well, I guess “the fix is in.”
Time is short so I’ll be very direct. This past week or so you’ve experienced the visceral wrath of the organized left, spearheaded by homosexual activist extremists. You’re not used to it. We Christian advocates for religious liberty are. While their bark is loud, shrill and obnoxious, I assure you, it’s much worse than their bite. We are witnessing governance by mob rule. It’s tyranny of the minority and you’re letting it happen.
With all due respect, sir, show some moxie, would you? It wasn’t broken and the alleged “fix” that the Indiana legislature, at your request, has proposed to the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), will destroy the law beyond all recognition. In fact, it will turn it into the “RFDA” – the “Religious Freedom Destruction Act.” No bill at all would have been better than this anti-Christian, sexual anarchist disaster.
What was intended as a shield to every American’s First Amendment-guaranteed religious liberty, as proposed, will now become a sword used to destroy it. What was designed to defend people of faith against being discriminated against and bullied will, instead, codify anti-religious discrimination and bullying into law. It will unconstitutionally force people of faith, under penalty of law, to affirmatively violate their sincerely held religious conscience. It has been turned into a weapon that compels people of faith to disobey God or face government sanction.
This is unacceptable.
As the American Family Association’s Bryan Fischer correctly notes, “The revised language has now been released, and it’s even worse than we thought. The new language forces Christian bakers to bake cakes in violation of their faith and conscience. Gov. Pence tried to fix something that wasn’t broken, and he broke it. The ‘cure’ in this case is far worse than the non-existent disease. Gov. Pence must veto this misbegotten piece of legislation.”
“It also appears that under the changes released today, it may be impossible for a business or individual to even make a claim under RFRA [the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act] of an infringement of their religious liberty in many parts of Indiana.”–Micah Clark, AFA-Indiana
Micah Clark, executive director of American Family Association of Indiana–and a wonderful pro-family advocate who does outstanding work in the Hoosier State–sent the following e-letter to his constituents today–after new proposed language surfaced amending the state’s new religious freedom law:
________________
Friends,
As you know, over the weekend, Governor Mike Pence began discussing a clarification of Indiana Senate Bill 101. This was due to the mass misinformation and fear campaign mobilized against it and against our entire state. He did not ask for a change to a newly enacted statute which has been proven, established and non-controversial language for 22 years.
The actions taken by the Indiana General Assembly do not clarify our Religious Freedom Restoration Act’s purposes or goals. Our legal advisors tell us that it actually changes our law in a way that could now erode religious freedom across Indiana. If this revised law does not adequately protect religious liberty for all, it is not really a religious freedom act.
What is worse, unlike our current law, this new language’s impact is something upon which few attorneys or legal scholars will likely agree.
We have also been advised that it is possible that the proposed changes may no longer protect a company like Hobby Lobby from participation in abortion matters. One of the primary motivations behind SB 101 was to protect the rights of conscience for business owners regarding their beliefs about abortion.
It also appears that under the changes released today, it may be impossible for a business or individual to even make a claim under RFRA of an infringement of their religious liberty in many parts of Indiana.
On the positive side there is some language left which protects Hoosiers from a government action against their religious beliefs.
We understand that legislators have been threatened with significant economic harms and bullied in many ways. We understand that Indiana has been unfairly harmed by blatant lies and a misinformation campaign around something for which RFRA laws have never been successfully used. We do not blame legislators for wanting to protect Indiana from a mob mentality. political opportunism, and mass hysteria.
AFA of Indiana is asking Governor Pence to veto these changes for the above reasons and because they went far beyond what he asked the legislature to do. If you would like to contact the Governor’s office, you can call 317-232-4567.
Thank you, and please continue to pray for this matter, our leaders, and our great state.
Condemns VP Biden, who tells “gay” group: “You’re never going to be able to eliminate the bigots”; Rob Bell embraces sin-based “marriage”
It was a pleasure to sit down March 13, 2015 with Jim Schneider of WVCY America on VCY’s TV-30 program “In Focus.” The theme of the show was the “Ingraining of Homosexuality in Society.”In Focus reaches Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin. Here is the Vimeo link, and some of the topics we discussed. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH; Twitter: @PeterLaBarbera
2:00: Upcoming (April 28) Supreme Court hearing of same-sex “marriage” cases. I call a ruling nationalizing “gay marriage” the “Roe v. Wade” of the homosexual issue.
4:14 – Should Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan, who officiated at homosexual “weddings,” recuse themselves from SCOTUS case? [more time breakdowns follow jump and video below…]
5:45 – Insidious comparison of the Black civil rights movement to the homosexual revolution; I bring up the late Ken Hutcherson, a Black preacher (and former NFL lineman), who said: “Don’t compare your sin to my skin”;
6:56 – Comments on Vice President Biden’s castigation of social conservatives at an HRC fundraiser: “You’re never going to be able to eliminate the bigots.”
12:45 – Amicus brief to the Supreme Court urging the (national) legalization of homosexuality-based “marriage” signed by 379 corporations (many major companies like Aetna, Amazon.com, AT&T, Delta Airlines and JP Morgan Chase–but also small firms and homosexual-owned businesses and organizations).
26:30 – Discuss the Republican Party and homosexual “marriage” and an amicus brief to the Supreme Court signed by pro-homosexual-“marriage” Republicans.
32:50 – Renegade evangelical churches and leaders like Rob Bell who are embracing “marriage” based on homosexuality. At 34:30, incredible footage of Bell’s interview with Oprah in which he and his wife embrace counterfeit same-sex “marriage.”
LGBT Activist Mocks the Lord: above is a Tweet sent out just before Christmas by influential Indiana “gay” activist Bil Browning. Secular leftists mock Christians and the Christian faith by referring to Jesus Christ as “Jeebus.” AFTAH President Peter LaBarbera responded on Twitter to Browning’s bigotry. See full Twitter exchange HERE.
“If government can compel a Christian or Orthodox Jewish businessman to participate in a ceremony that attaches sinful homosexuality to “marriage,” then the State can compel ANY American citizen or institution to violate ANY of their cherished beliefs. That is the essence of tyranny.”
In the wake of a pro-LGBT, media-driven campaign against Indiana’s new Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), Gov. Mike Pence and leaders of the Indiana legislature are backtracking to appease the liberal political mob that has cynically recast the law as the “License to Discriminate.”
Good people everywhere are now intimidated from speaking plain truths about the homosexual-bisexual-transgender agenda. Americans For Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH) is not. The distortions and media hype attacking Indiana’s religious freedom law are obfuscating some key fundamentals in this debate. It is not the purpose here to dig into the “legaleze” about the law (for that, see this Reason.com piece) but rather to expose the core hypocrisy of pro-LGBT progressives on “discrimination.”
Homosexual activists and their sycophants in the media (e.g., CNN’s homosexual anchor/activist Don Lemon) are cunningly building upon their distortions of the RFRA to demand a pro-homosexual special-rights law in the Hoosier State.
It would be the cruelest of ironies if the media-driven backlash against Indiana’s religious freedom law were used to push through a statewide “gay rights” law in Indiana. Such pro-homosexual laws and corporate policies have been the engine driving PRO-LGBT DISCRIMINATION against people of faith for decades—all in the sweet-sounding name of “equality.” For example, the “gay” movement’s bullying of the Boy Scouts of America began with a lawsuit that relied upon New Jersey’s pro-homosexual “sexual orientation” law.
The pro-family movement has long referred to so-called nondiscrimination laws based on “sexual orientation” and ”gender identity” as “special rights” because genuine civil rights are not based on disordered, immoral sexual behavior and gender confusion. These Orwellian laws and corporate policies actually foment discrimination in the name of “non-discrimination.” That’s liberalism for you.
Our cherished American freedoms come ultimately from God, as recognized by our national charter, the Declaration of Independence, which appeals to “Nature and Nature’s God.” Homosexual behavior–which cannot produce life–is against both. Witness the grossly disproportionate STD rates linked to “men who have sex with men.”
It is ludicrous to posit “civil rights” based on homosexuality and gender rebellion as “constitutional.” But it is downright un-American to argue—as many LGBT activists do—that in a nation founded by people fleeing religious oppression, “rights” based on sexual sin should trump Americans’ freedom to uphold biblical sexual morality and real marriage between a man and a woman.
The LGBT Lobby and the media have raised the issue of potential discrimination in Indiana. Let’s talk about discrimination.
With the rise of “gay power” in the West has come an abundance of victims of pro-homosexual Political Correctness. All over the world, Christians and moral-minded citizens have been victimized by a liberal, elitist pro-homosexual orthodoxy that increasingly brooks no dissent. The media have trivialized the zero-sum conflict between “gay rights” and freedom of conscience as being merely about wedding cake bakers–but the escalating “LGBTyranny” goes far beyond that:
Congratulations to American Family Association of Indiana Executive Director Micah Clark and other pro-family leaders in the state for passage of SB 101, which hopefully will help protect the freedom of conscience of Indiana citizens for decades to come. I also read a good piece on Reason.com by Scott Shackfork debunking the main objection to the bill–which homosexual and transgender activists are smearing as the “Indiana Right to Discriminate” law.
Pro-homosexual and pro-transgender laws discriminate against people of faith and morality and women desiring privacy in public restrooms, respectively, but I suppose that kind of discrimination is tolerable to the Left because it accelerates the “gay” and “progressive” transformation of society. Thank God that defenders of liberty are fighting back. Below Clark answers some of the lies against SB 101. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH; Twitter: @PeterLaBarbera
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Hobby Lobby Bill Has Been Sent to Governor Pence
By Micah Clark, AFA of Indiana
Yesterday Senate Bill 101 cleared the last procedural step before going to the Governor’s office. After the bill passed the Indiana House on Monday by a solid 63-31 vote, the Senate voted on the concurrence motion with another strong vote of 40-10.
The bill is now headed to the Governor’s office. Yet, this movement has not stopped the silliness surrounding this tested legislation. Yesterday, I even had a call at the AFA-IN office that nearly takes the cake, though it is hard to get beyond the vile allegation that this would allow people of faith to bomb abortion clinics. The confused caller was worried that our Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) could be used to keep certain people of faith from being allowed to drive on the Indiana toll roads.
The hostility of the far Left never ceases to amaze me. Ironically, one thing this debate has revealed is the deep hostility that is out there against people of faith. It practically makes the case as to why SB 101 is needed. If you still doubt that those on the political Left and those in the homosexual activist movement want to force all people, including those with deep religious conviction, to embrace the homosexual agenda, then you haven’t paid close attention to this debate over religious liberty.
There have been so many lies repeated in the media and by opponents on this legislation that it is difficult to know where to start. Perhaps the best way, though, by no means comprehensive is to address a few things in bullet points. Here I go:
“A license to discriminate” – perhaps the biggest lie about this law is that it is a vehicle for discrimination. As I noted in the AFA-IN donor newsletter, Indiana Family Voice, SB 101 is only discriminatory if we radically redefine discrimination, which many liberals and homosexuals clearly want to do. This law does not allow a person of faith to deny service to someone, nor should it. No Christian bakery owner should say that people involved in homosexual behavior couldn’t shop in their bakery. That, in my opinion is wrong, un-Christian and discriminatory unless the patron is misbehaving ( i.e. “no shirt, no shoes, no service“). However, when a customer seeks special participation from the baker, asking him or her to specially decorate a “gay” wedding cake and come set it up at a homosexual wedding, then there is a very different line crossed, and a problem for most people of faith. However, while SB 101 could be cited as a defense in such a case, as could the 1st Amendment, courts thus far have not seen RFRA as very compelling in such cases.
The world is overflowing with deception (good is evil, and evil is good), false religions and doctrines forged in Hell. Among the world’s false religions, there are none more sinister – in my opinion – than those that claim the name of Christ while espousing all kinds of unbiblical error and even things the Lord calls abomination. While other false religions are no less dangerous to the eternal spirits of those beguiled by them, it is supremely detestable when false gospels are presented under the name of Jesus.
Jesus is the Son of God, and He is God. He came to earth to offer Himself as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. We are all accountable to God for our sins. We are all born in sin, and we each struggle with sin all our lives (at least those of us who recognize our sinfulness struggle with it, but others may not consider it at all). Jesus lived a sinless life as God in the flesh, and his willing sacrifice on the cross was perfect and acceptable to cover the sins of anyone who would believe in Him. Jesus is the only way – the only way – for man to be reconciled to God. He died so we could be free from sin, not be “out and proud” of our sin! The devil knows this and wants to prevent as many people from being saved as he possibly can, so he has labored from the beginning of Christ’s earthly ministry to infiltrate the church, to infuse it with his evil, subtle deceptions and myriad divisions. He has been greatly successful.
Today, we see rampant apostasy in many so-called Christian churches. There are plenty of denominations and churches that have created their own set of man-made traditions and regulations apart from Scripture, and in some cases, contrary to it. When churches that purport to be Christian rely on anything other than the Bible alone for revelation of God’s plan for mankind, then error is inevitable. When the Rock is not your foundation (no, the Rock is not Peter; it’s Jesus), then you will be prone to swallow all manner of false teachings.
Thus it is with the Presbyterian USA group, which voted this week to add the acceptance of sodomite “marriage” to its constitution. This follows on the heels of a 2011 vote that saw the group amend its charter to accept the ordination of unrepentant homosexuals to leadership position in its churches.
Join Pro-Life and Pro-Family activists at the Defense of the Texas Marriage Amendment Rally
WHEN & WHERE: Monday, March 23rd at 1:00 PM on the south steps of the State Capitol in Austin. Below is a video and letter by Dr. Steven Hotze, president of Conservative Republicans of Texas:
It’s time for Christians and conservatives to rise up and take a stand for God’s truth about marriage! We must draw a line in the sand.
This is a call to action. I am asking you to make whatever sacrifices necessary to attend the Defense of Texas Marriage Amendment Rally scheduled for Monday, March 23rd at 1:00 pm on the south steps of the Texas Capitol. Please encourage your family, friends and fellow church members to attend. You might consider taking busloads of people to the rally.
We have over 100 elected State Officials who are sponsoring this event. They are coming under attack by militant homosexuals. That is why Christians and conservatives must have a show of force to let these legislators know that we support them.
Marriage is a God ordained institution between a man and a woman and it is the fundamental foundation of families and of ordered societies: “For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24, Matt. 19:5).
In the November 8, 2005 General Election, the citizens of Texas passed, by an overwhelming margin of 76% to 24%, a Marriage Amendment to the Texas Constitution, Article 1, Section 32, which provides that “Marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman.”
A fierce battle for the soul of Texas has begun.The liberals and their pro-homosexual allies want to force Texans to redefine marriage and accept ‘homosexual mirage’ as morally right.
