Just days after the City of Coeur d’Alene reversed course and declared that a pastor would not have to perform same-sex wedding ceremonies; Houston Mayor Anise Parker has dropped her unconstitutional subpoena of pastor’s sermons.

An article at the Christian Post notes that Mayor Parker intends to defend the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO), but has decided to drop her request for the sermons, speeches, and other communications of local pastors.

“After much contemplation and discussion, I am directing the city legal department to withdraw the subpoenas issued to the five Houston pastors who delivered the petitions, the anti-HERO petitions, to the city of Houston and who indicated that they were responsible for the overall petition effort. It is extremely important to me to protect our equal rights ordinance from repeal, and it is extremely important to me to make sure that every Houstonian knows that their lives are valid and protected and acknowledged.”

Mayor Parker and the city council have come under heavy scrutiny in light of their decision to seek the private communications of local pastors. Religious Freedom advocates have decried the move as nothing short of an unconstitutional power play by a tyrannical local government. The pastors have said there is no reason to subpoena their sermons because they are all online and available to anyone in the public that wishes to access them. This fact makes it appear that the city was seeking private communications from the pastors in order to determine whether they were critical of the HERO law.

Many religious people, churches, and organizations are already concerned that the spread of gay-rights will infringe on their right to live according to their faith. This fear is valid considering cases from New Mexico to Washington, Colorado to New York have given absolute validity to that fear. So Mayor Parker’s move to compel pastors to share private messages sent a shock wave across the nation and sparked outrage from coast to coast.

It was even reported that the mayor’s office have received nearly 1000 Bible’s from citizens upset over her decision.

Mayor Parker says she decided to drop the subpoena order not to appease critics but because it “was not serving Houston”

“I didn’t do this to satisfy them…I did it because it was not serving Houston…We are going to continue to vigorously defend our ordinance against repeal efforts.”

Therein lays the problem. The petition that was circulated to get the HERO bill on the ballot for voters to approve or repeal was rejected by Mayor Parker’s office. Even though nearly three times as many signatures needed to get the bill on the ballot were obtained, the city’s legal team somehow managed to disqualify enough to reject the petition. This prompted a group of pastors to sue the city. Mayor Parker responded by subpoenaing their sermons.

For now it seems mayor Parker has backed down. But the fact that she is willing to go to such measures to protect a bill that potentially most of her city is against shows she is unfit for office. She has made clear that she does not represent the people of Houston but rather her own special interest.

I’m thankful for these pastors that refused to back down but stood firm in the face of government abuse and intimidation. I’m equally thankful for groups like Alliance Defending Freedom that stood with the pastors as legal representation. Perhaps Mayor Parker will not be so quick to trample the rights of Houstonians now that she knows they will not back down.

The video below shares details regarding the subpoenas and commentary on the situation before Mayor Parker’s decision to drop the subpoena request. If the video doesn’t appear automatically please refresh your browser.

The following articles may serve as a running commentary on this ongoing story.

The Family Research Council: 7 Points of Reflection: Responding to the Houston Mayor’s Press Conference Announcing the Withdrawal of the Subpoenas Targeting the Five Houston Pastors

The Washington Times: Houston mayor withdraws pastor subpoenas after national uproar

The Houston Chronicle: Mayor’s decision to drop subpoenas fails to quell criticism

Fox News: Houston mayor drops bid to subpoena pastors’ sermons

National Review: City of Houston Withdraws Subpoenas Entirely

Acton Institute Power Blog (Joe Carter): Houston Mayor to Pastors: On Second Thought, Let’s Forget About Those Subpoenas

Alliance Alert (ADF Media): HOUSTON MAYOR WITHDRAWS SUBPOENAS, BUT SCANDAL NOT FULLY RESOLVED