Tag: mayor
A Baltimore Victory! And a Victory for Religious Freedom Too
Posted on October 19, 2016 in Life, Sexuality, Theology by Nathan Cherry
It’s almost too absurd to consider. And yet, it’s a reality in our upside down social landscape. Baltimore City Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and the City Council sought to force pro-life pregnancy centers to advocate abortion. Mayor Blake an the City Council apparently are so committed to abortion in Baltimore that they are willing to force people fundamentally opposed to it to not only support it, but to help advertise it.
A recent article reports:
Common Sense Wins in Houston as Men are Not Allowed in Women’s Bathrooms
Posted on November 10, 2015 in Public Policy, Sexuality, Uncategorized by Nathan Cherry
What does not seem to be so common is common sense. The HERO ordinance would have allowed transgender people to use whatever bathroom, shower, locker room, or facility they chose. This means, in very simple terms, that any person can claim to be any gender they want in order to gain access to the facility they want. To put it plainly, men, particularly sexual predators would have immediate access to women’s bathrooms, showers, and locker rooms.
George Washington Law School professor John Banzhaf put the measure in perspective by noting that women would see it as an invasion of their “sexual privacy.” He said:
UPDATE: Houston Mayor Withdraws Subpoena Request for Pastors Sermons (VIDEO)
Posted on November 4, 2014 in Religious Freedom, Sexuality by Nathan Cherry
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.”
Roundup: Houston Pastors Facing Unconstitutional Government Power Grab Over Sermons
Posted on November 3, 2014 in Religious Freedom by Nathan Cherry
As the battle in Houston continues over the city subpoenaing the sermons of at least five pastors for their involvement in opposing a local “bathroom bill,” the commentary continues to flow. Below you will find some notable voices and their thoughts on the subject to help you stay on top of the issue. Every American should be angry over the fact that any government entity would dare subpoena the speech of anyone, let alone pastors. All speech, and religious speech such as sermons is certainly included, is protected by the First Amendment and the government has no business seeking it. Prayerfully the city will back down. If not, I hope the Texas State Supreme Court squashes the subpoena request and ends the city is sued inquisition. Mayor Parker needs a strong wake-up call and reminder that she has no business intimidating people by violating their civil rights.
CBN: ADF Unimpressed by Houston’s Revised Subpoena’s
The Alliance Defending Freedom released a statement on the changes. “The city of Houston still doesn’t get it. It thinks that by changing nothing in its subpoenas other than to remove the word ‘sermons’ that it has solved the problem. That solves nothing,” ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley said in the statement. “Even though the pastors are not parties in this lawsuit, the subpoenas still demand from them 17 different categories of information – information that encompasses speeches made by the pastors and private communications with their church members,” he continued. “As we have stated many times, the problem is the subpoenas themselves; they must be rescinded entirely.”
UPDATE: US Civil Rights Commission Tells Houston Mayor to Leave Pastors Alone
Posted on October 27, 2014 in Religious Freedom by Nathan Cherry
The news that Mayor Annise Parker of Houston, Texas subpoenaed the sermons and other communications from several pastors after the passage and attempted repeal of a controversial “bathroom bill” in the city has become a national matter.
Bathroom bills are dangerous, to say the least. Typically a bathroom bill will allow a man to use the women’s bathroom, locker room, or other facilities (and vice versa) based on little more than a perceived gender identity. In other words a man can simply say that he is a woman and be allowed to use the women’s facilities. The dangers of such bills seem obvious to everyone but the activists pushing for their passage.
When the Houston bathroom bill was being proposed by the city many pastors spoke out against it and even encouraged their congregations to oppose the bill. Such speech is not merely appropriate for a pastor inside his church it is constitutionally protected speech. But that didn’t stop the city of Houston and Mayor Annise Parker from subpoenaing the sermons, emails, and other communication of these pastors.
That’s when people across the country got mad.
Idaho: City Demands Pastor Perform Same-Sex Ceremony or Go to Jail!
Posted on October 21, 2014 in Marriage, Religious Freedom by Nathan Cherry
The most recent example of course is the subpoena of pastor’s sermons in the city of Houston. Now called “The Houston 5,” a group of pastors that openly opposed the city’s transgender bathroom bill have been asked by the city to turn over all sermons, speeches, and communications relating to the bill and Mayor Annise Parker.
That statement should be terrifying to anyone that believes in the First Amendment and both free speech and religious freedom. To think that any government agency would consider – let alone follow through – asking pastors to turn over sermons is egregious at best. Sen. Ted Cruz reminded the city of Houston that “Caesar has no jurisdiction over the pulpit” in his comments at a press conference with pastors and religious freedom advocates:
“Caesar has no jurisdiction over the pulpit. And when you subpoena one pastor, you subpoena every pastor.”
Apparently a city in Idaho is taking this sentiment literally by demanding that a pastor perform same-sex weddings or face fines and jail time. An article at The Daily Caller explains:
SHOCK! Government Demands Copy of Pastors Sermons!
Posted on October 16, 2014 in Religious Freedom by Nathan Cherry
For some time people like myself has been warning that the government was becoming increasingly intrusive on the religious freedoms of churches. Stories from the last few years alone are enough to make any sane persons head spin. From zoning law restrictions to taxes, the government has been seeking to get more than a foot in the door of America’s churches.
I have warned on more than one occasion that before long the government would try to silence America’s pastors – either through regulation, IRS intimidation, or both. It seemed a no brainer to me that the end game was to pretend to value freedom of religion while seeking to monitor and regulate exactly what speech is used.
It seems that day has come far sooner than anyone expected.
The city of Houston has issued subpoenas to a group of pastors for their sermons dealing with homosexuality, gender identity, or any mention of Mayor Annise Parker; who happens to be a lesbian.
New York City Says Churches Can’t Use Public Schools
Posted on April 11, 2014 in Religious Freedom by Nathan Cherry
The case of the Bronx Household of Faith is a storied one that has spanned decades. It began when the New York City Board of Education changed a city policy forbidding churches to rent public schools for church services. Other organizations may rent public schools, only churches were barred from using them. The Bronx Household of Faith sued the city for unfairly targeting the free exercise of religion.
In 2012 a lower court granted a full injunction which barred the city policy from taking effect, this allowed the churches to continue meeting in schools pending the ruling by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. The 2nd Circuit reversed the lower court ruling last week and allowed the city policy to take effect. Without intervention by the full 2nd Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court churches in New York City will now be homeless.
The good news is that newly elected mayor Bill de Blasio has said he supports allowing churches to meet in schools like everyone else. In fact he made such statements more than once during his campaign. After the ruling Mayor de Blasio was quoted as saying: