Only in Houston with the Lesbian Mayor. SO FAR. The Gaystapo.
David > On Oct 18, 2014, at 3:44 PM, BILROJ via Centroids: The Center of the Radical > Centrist Community <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Hand Over Your Sermon, or Else > > > By Eric Metaxas <http://www.christianpost.com/author/eric-metaxas/> , > Christian Post Contributor > October 17, 2014 > > Earlier this week, the city of Houston, the fourth-largest city in the U.S., > issued a subpoena to a group of pastors demanding copies of sermons that > touched on the subjects of "homosexuality, gender identity or Annise Parker, > the city's first openly-lesbian mayor." > > Let that sink in. In America, a city government has demanded that religious > leaders turn over their sermons or face contempt of court charges, even > possibly jail time. > > Words fail me. This is beyond outrageous. John Stonestreet and I—and Chuck > Colson before us—have been warning for years that our religious liberties are > in peril in every aspect of life. This may be the wake-up call the church in > America needs. > > Okay, so here's the background. In May, the city council enacted an ordinance > that permitted transgendered men to use women's public restrooms. > > Mayor Parker defended the ordinance as a measure that supported the "Houston > I know [that] does not discriminate, treats everyone equally and allows full > participation by everyone in civic and business life." > > Missing in that high-sounding rhetoric was any guidance regarding how to > distinguish a transgendered man from a guy who simply wants to see women in > various states of undress in a public restroom. > > In response to this, opponents of the ordinance gathered more than 50,000 > signatures to put a measure repealing the ordinance on the ballot. While "the > city secretary, who is entrusted by law to examine and certify petitions, > certified [it] as sufficient," the city attorney and the mayor's office threw > out the petitions claiming irregularities. The people behind the petition > drive then sued the city. > > That's when Houston decided to play hardball and issued the subpoenas to the > pastors. Mayor Parker called the demand for the sermons "fair game," even > though none of the pastors was directly connected to the petition drive or > the lawsuit. > > A colleague of mine, who graduated from law school and passed the bar, asked > "how is this legal?" when he learned about the subpoenas. And of course, he > wasn't alone. Russell Moore, of the Southern Baptists Ethics & Religious > Liberty Commission, in a piece entitled "Houston, We Have a Constitution," > wrote that he was "simply stunned by the audacity" of the subpoenas. > > As the Alliance Defending Freedom's Christiana Holcomb put it, "The city > council and its attorneys are engaging in an inquisition designed to stifle > any critique of its actions. Political and social commentary is not a crime; > it is protected by the First Amendment." > > Presumably, Houston's lawyers also graduated from law school and passed the > bar, so they had to know that there was no way this action would stand up in > court. So why did they proceed? > > They proceeded because their goal was not legal—it was political. The goal > was not to prevail in litigation over the petitions but to intimidate their > opponents and create what the Supreme Court has called a "chilling effect" on > future challenges to government actions by religiously-motivated citizens. > The message was "oppose us and we will make your life miserable." > > As I record this commentary, it seems that Houston is re-thinking the > subpoenas. But it's important to note that if they are, it's only because > citizens are crying foul and pushing back—hard. As they should. > > That in itself is a sad reminder that the freedom we once took for granted is > now up for grabs. And that we can never, ever be silent in the face of this > kind of horrendous and utterly un-American intimidation. > > Maybe we'll win this round, but it's clear that we have a problem—and not > only in Houston. > > > -- > -- > Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community > <[email protected]> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism > <http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism> > Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org > <http://radicalcentrism.org/> > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout > <https://groups.google.com/d/optout>. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. 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