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Freedom in the Balance: Will the Government of the United States of America force people of faith like Jack Phillips to use their talents and privately-owned business to honor and serve “marriages” based on immoral homosexual behavior? Click to enlarge. Photo: Alliance Defending Freedom.
Folks, here is a neat video on the Jack Phillips Supreme Court case by Elizabeth Johnston, the “Activist Mommy” despised by the Left because she is an effective and fearless Christian, conservative truth-teller. It strikes me as un-American that our simple freedom as citizens of this nation, founded on religious liberty, to associate with whomever we want and publicly live by our moral and spiritual beliefs now hangs by the thread of the whims of a few Supreme Court Justices.
All eyes are on Justice Anthony Kennedy, who, though appointed by Ronald Reagan, has earned hero status on the pro-LGBTQ Left for his consistent, pro-homosexual record on the Court. Where will Kennedy, who authored the God- and Constitution-defying 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision imposing counterfeit “same-sex marriage” on all 50 states, come down on Phillips’ conscience-based refusal to participate through his cake shop in the celebration of disordered homosexual “weddings”? [Read the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s superb dissent on ObergefellHERE.]
Social conservatives warned that legalizing so-called “same-sex marriage” would result in escalating State and cultural oppression against religious people and institutions–ironically, in the name of “civil rights,” “diversity,” and “equality.” Now that is happening with horrific consequences for principled Christians like Phillips and Barronelle Stutzman. The media- and Democratic Party-enabled “Gay” Revolution has advanced to the point where it is now working to effectively criminalize faithful Christians and other moral dissenters by preposterously comparing them to racist bigots and treating them accordingly.
The leading legal crusader for homosexual “marriage,” Evan Wolfson, said, “I’m not in this just to change the law. It’s about changing society.” Indeed. Now the question is: are we going to let the pro-LGBTQ Lobby and the Government destroy our First Amendment liberties in the service of a godless, radical egalitarian agenda that regards the public expression of biblical faithfulness as just one more component of “anti-gay discrimination”? We’ll see, but to say that a lot rides on this case would be an understatement. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH; Twitter: @PeterLaBarbera
Folks, it looks like the case of Barronelle Stutzman–the Christian florist who was sued by two “marrying” homosexual men and the Washington State Attorney General because she would not create a floral arrangement for their “wedding”–is headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
On Feb. 16, the Washington State Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Stutzman of a lower court decision and ruled that “the government can force her—and, by extension, other Washingtonians—to create artistic expression and participate in events with which they disagree,” according to Alliance Defending Freedom, which is handling Stutzman’s defense (see more info below video). [Read the court’s decision HERE.]
Below is a background video on Barronelle’s case created by ADF. You will note from this 2016 court filing that ADF et al are defending Stutzman on “artistic freedom” grounds. We at AFTAH are not attorneys but we do know this: in a free society, anyone–Christian florist, Muslim cake-maker or atheist wedding chair-supplier–should have the liberty not to use their business to celebrate homosexuality-based “marriage,” which we, as Christians, regard as sin on steroids.
We hope that this kind, brave and faithful woman prevails at the Supreme Court. If she doesn’t, you can stop singing that America is the “land of the free.” — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH [more background after jump and video]
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.
