Tag: bill
Does the Bible Justify Refusing to Serve Homosexual Weddings?
Posted on February 27, 2014 in Public Policy, Religious Freedom by Nathan Cherry
Note: This article is a follow up to yesterday’s post in which I discussed the article by Kirsten Powers and responses to her article.
Predictably, the pending law in Arizona that would allow businesses to refuse service to homosexuals based on their religious convictions has stirred up controversy around the nation. Proponents of the legislation say it is needed to ensure the religious and conscience rights of Christian business owners are protected from government coercion and mandate. Opponents say the bills are just an excuse for people to discriminate.
What was not predictable in this discussion was how divided Christians themselves would be on the issue. Some Christians are saying no one should have the right to refuse service – not even Christians, and not even when rendering service would violate a person’s convictions. Other Christians are baffled by that position and reiterate that the government should not be allowed to force a person to violate his or her deeply held religious convictions. Dr. Albert Mohler recently said that this was “perhaps the strangest and most disappointing dimension of the current controversy.”
By a 79-17 margin, the West Virginia House of Delegates passed the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (HB 4588). The bill now goes to the Senate. The Charleston Gazette reports:
“Legislation that would make it a felony to perform abortions on fetuses after 20 weeks’ gestation passed an emotionally charged House of Delegates late Tuesday evening on a 79-17 vote. The passage vote followed a lengthy, emotional debate on the bill (HB4588). That included comments from Delegate Nancy Guthrie, D-Kanawha, saying the Legislature does not have the right to tell her or any other woman what rights she has with her body. ‘All of you should be ashamed of yourselves for bringing this bill to the floor of the House,’ she said.”
Whether the Gazette simply wants to be sterile and use medical terms like fetus or they are pro-abortion, I don’t know. I do know that Del. Guthrie thinks it is acceptable to torture and dismember an unborn child before it is born. But I’m sure she is glad her mother didn’t do that to her.
This bill has been a miracle since it was introduced and now needs another miracle to make it out of the senate. With just 11 days left in this legislative session the fate of the bill is presently unclear.
I encourage you to contact your elected state senators and let them know you support the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act and want them to do the same. You can get in touch with every member of the legislature by going to: www.legis.state.wv.us/
For more information read the LifeNews.com article: “West Virginia House Passes Bill Banning Abortions After 20 Weeks”
URGENT: Contact W.Va. Delegates to Ask Them To Support Pro-Life Bill
Posted on February 19, 2014 in Life by Nathan Cherry
After the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (HB 4588) failed during a procedural vote last week, state lawmakers were taken to task for their failure to protect innocent children from the torture of abortion. Perhaps they are feeling the pressure as it seems the bill has been revived and has passed a key hurdle in being discharged from committee.
According to LifeNews.com:
“…on February 12, 2014, the Democrats convened a caucus where, according to The Charleston Gazette (see Statehouse Beat: Caucus Becomes Heated), ‘Tensions are running high in the House of Delegates, after a three-hour, knock-down, drag-out Democratic caucus Wednesday that was marked, we’re told, by yelling and screaming, and even delegates concerned that fisticuffs might break out.’ Why such a heated caucus? The Gazette continued, ‘A procedural vote on this year’s anti-abortion bill being championed by West Virginians for Life…'”
The bill was set to be in the judiciary committee yesterday and news of what will happen next is pending. The best thing you can do right now to help pass this critical, life-saving bill is to contact your elected lawmakers and urge them to support the bill.
For contact information for your delegate, go to: http://wvforlife.org/legislation/wv-delegates/ or go to www.legis.state.wv.us.
W.Va. House Approves 20 Week Abortion Bill
Posted on February 18, 2014 in Life by Nathan Cherry
WOWKTV.com is reporting: “A West Virginia House of Delegates committee has voted to pass a bill to limit abortions after 20 weeks. The proposal passed Monday in the Committee on Health would prohibit abortions after 20 weeks unless a physician deems a woman’s medical complications pose a risk to her life or would cause irreversible physical impairment. This does not include a woman’s psychological or mental condition.”
This is great news in light of the failure of our lawmakers last week to approve another bill to limit abortions after 20 weeks. I’m not sure why our lawmakers, many of them claiming to be pro-life, can’t accurately represent the people of West Virginia by enacting common sense health and safety regulations on the unregulated abortion industry in our state. Are they afraid of doing what’s right and making the people that elected them happy?
One curious note to this article came when it said: “The bill would also compel physicians who perform abortions after 20 weeks to do so in such a way that provides the best opportunity for the unborn child to survive. Under the bill, all abortions would be reported to the Division of Health and anyone who performs an abortion in violation of the bill would face felony charges.”
How exactly do you perform an abortion “in such a way that provides the best opportunity for the unborn child to survive”? Is there a method of abortion that encourages life? This is a strange report that hopefully will be answered by lawmakers as this bill progresses.
Let’s call and email our lawmakers and let them know that we support this bill and want to see it signed into law in order to protect both women and children in West Virginia. You can find all your elected officials contact information at the West Virginia Legislature website.
BREAKING: W.Va. Senate President Kessler Introduces Dangerous ENDA Bill
Posted on February 4, 2014 in Religious Freedom by Nathan Cherry
AP: “A bill introduced in the West Virginia Senate would make it unlawful for employers and landlords to discriminate against individuals based on their sexual orientation. Senate President Jeff Kessler, the sponsor, introduced similar bills in 2008, 2009 and 2010. The bills passed the Senate each year but stalled in the House of Delegates. The West Virginia Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination in employment and housing based on race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, blindness or disability.”
Even though the water crisis has dominated the legislature up to this point, anyone with an ounce of insight into West Virginia politics knew that it was a matter of time before a bill like this hit the floor. The tide is changing in West Virginia and true conservatives that do more than talk are gaining seats in the state house. Knowing this, liberals seeking to veer away from the values that has made our state great are desperate. This bill from Kessler is just another example of that desperation.
URGENT: House Passes “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act”
Posted on January 29, 2014 in Life by Nathan Cherry
I wrote on Monday that the House of Representatives would be voting on the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” this week. They held that vote on Tuesday and the bill passed with an overwhelming majority. Considering that polls have consistently shown a super-majority of Americans don’t want their tax dollars used to fund the abortion industry, this bill only makes sense. Not to mention the federal government should not be in the business of killing unborn children.
Answering Questions on ENDA
Posted on November 25, 2013 in Public Policy, Sexuality by Nathan Cherry
The federal ENDA bill appears to be stalled, perhaps dead…for the moment. After passing in the Senate by a solid majority it appears the House will not bring the bill up for a vote. Even though West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin promised to oppose legislation like ENDA, in the end he broke that promise and voted in favor of the bill. However, to this point House Speaker John Boehner has opposed ENDA and said he will not bring it up for a vote in the House of Representatives.
One thing is for sure: this is the end of ENDA. There is no doubt that this bill will come back and we need to be prepared to oppose it. West Virginians in particular need to be prepared to oppose ENDA on the state level as we will no doubt be facing a state level ENDA bill again in the 2014 legislative session.
For those who are not familiar with ENDA, Joe Carter, writing at The Gospel Coalition, has written a short, informative article answering some of the most frequently asked questions about ENDA. In particular he answers the question why should Christians be concerned about ENDA?
“As a practical matter, ENDA teaches a view of human embodiment that Christians will strongly object to. Christianity embraces the body and self as an integrated whole; as unique creations that witness to the divine action and creativity of God through our being created male and female. Male and female are not arbitrary, socially imposed constructs. They are rooted in our biology. In contrast, the worldview behind ENDA assumes an ‘expressive individualism’ where our bodies become instruments of the will, capable of being re-created according to preference and desire.”
I highly recommend reading this article.