While the news cycles of Covid, the winter storm, Governor Cuomo, and the stimulus package overwhelmed us, one of the most disastrous laws ever foisted on Christians and children just passed the House. The only hope of defeating what I believe is the worst affront to faith and family in American legislative history is now with the Senate.
The so-called “Equality Act,” or HR-5, was passed by the House on Thursday, February 25th, on a vote of 224 – 206 with three Republicans joining Democrats in voting “yes.”
This bill basically adds everyone claiming LGBTQ status to the established federal civil rights protections. This has huge repercussions for Christian churches, especially evangelical churches, Christian business men and women, and our children. Proponents argue that it simply ensures the same rights for LGBTQ that everyone else enjoys. In reality, it takes away the religious and privacy rights of millions of Americans and the innocence of millions of children.
The Act would provide federal protection for either gender that wishes to use the public restrooms of the opposite gender. It would allow biological men to compete in women’s sports and use women’s locker rooms and showers. Men who identify as women could take advantage of special accommodations for entrepreneurial women in business. Doctors and medical organizations (yes, even Christian hospitals and clinics) could no longer refuse to provide hormone treatments and surgical procedures for those with gender dysphoria including teenage children. All businesses, including Christian bookstores and para-church organizations, would be prohibited from refusing employment for LGBTQ applicants who are diametrically opposed to their religious beliefs. Federally funded schools could not teach or acknowledge many differences between the sexes. In summary, the Act would remove most distinctions between males and females.
I believe the most inequitable result of this Act would be it’s deleterious impact on religious freedoms. This Act expressly exempts itself from the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the very basis for religious liberty law. In other words, religious liberty rights could not be used as a defense against the provisions of this Act.
It could designate churches as “public accommodations” no longer having the right to proclaim or practice anything contrary to government positions and mandates about sexual orientation and gender identity. Church employment could no longer be limited to those sharing the same beliefs as the church regarding sex and gender. Church memberships could not exclude those practicing LGBTQ lifestyles. Churches could be forced to accommodate LGBTQ wedding ceremonies and other events.
Religious colleges and universities could be denied government funding and accreditation if they refused to apply sexual orientation and gender identity to dorms, sports, restrooms, etc. They could not teach biblical principles of sexuality and gender.
This bill is anti-biblical, anti-Christian, anti-religious, anti-children, and anti-common-sense. It is everything BUT equitable. And, it is one of the highest priorities of President Biden’s first 100 days in office. It is one of the most significant debts the president owes to the radical left. This bill is a major plank in the Democratic platform in every aspect. It represents everything President Trump, like him or not, and the Senate majority protected us from for four years.
If you’re looking for the difference between Republicans and Democrats on the Hill, look no further than this example. In Thursday’s House Judiciary Committee debate just before the vote, Greg Steube, R-FL, quoted from Deuteronomy 22:5 the biblical truth that this bill was against God’s will, and that Congress was making America more vulnerable to God’s judgment. Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-NY, quickly chastised him publicly stating, “Mr. Steube, when any religious position is ascribed as God’s will, it is no concern of this Congress.”
Fellow Christians, this is the time to “put on the full armor of God” as described in Ephesians 6 and work against this vile bill as it moves to the Senate. Write AND call your Senator. Urge him or her to not only vote against it but to aggressively pursue its defeat among colleagues. Write President Biden insisting he stop caving to the radical left’s extreme agenda. If we fail to stem the flow of this raging counter-culture river now, we won’t recognize America in four years.
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