A bill to reverse Washington state's gender-neutral bathroom law was blocked in the state Senate – in part thanks to three Republicans who voted with the minority Democrats. The law took effect earlier this year but drew a backlash from those concerned about predators. The GOP has a slim majority in the state Senate, but the three Republicans gave Democrats a 25-24 victory.
The fight is not over between Kentucky printer Blaine Adamson and the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission. The commission ruled in 2014 that Adamson must print pro-homosexual shirts, but the decision was overturned at the Fayette Circuit Court in April of 2015. The commission has now appealed the decision to the Kentucky Court of Appeals. Last week, Alliance Defending Freedom filed a brief in support of Adamson.
Georgia House lawmakers on Thursday approved a bill explicitly stating that religious officials can refuse to perform same-sex "marriages," their first significant action on a variety of proposals creating legal exemptions for Obergefell opponents. The Georgia bill shielding religious officials moved quickly through the House with backing from Speaker David Ralston and little resistance from "gay-rights" advocates. The bill now goes to the state Senate for review.
Denny Burk writes about Julie Rodgers' decision to abandon the biblical definition of marriage. He says, "Complementarians have been saying for decades that egalitarian readings of scripture will eventually give way to gay-affirming readings. While we are thankful that many egalitarians never made this leap, we cannot help but observe that their theological children have no problem making the connection. And they are doing so based on reading strategies that they learned from their egalitarian mentors. This was inevitable."
A Florida bill that would have banned discrimination against homosexuals and transvestites will not become law this year. The bill (SB 120) would have added "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to the state’s civil rights laws, which prohibit discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations. The bill failed with a 5-5 vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
An appeals board has ordered the State Bar of Texas to investigate allegations that Attorney General Ken Paxton improperly encouraged county clerks to disregard last summer’s U.S. Supreme Court Obergefell opinion. Paxton has 30 days to write a response to the allegations, after which state bar lawyers will determine if there is enough evidence to proceed to litigation.
Dr. Robert A. J. Gagnon points out the problems with comparing homosexuality to race or gender, and shows how consensual incest and polyamory work much better as comparisons. He says, "The problem is that the analogy to race and gender doesn’t work well. Race and gender are 100% heritable, absolutely immutable, and primarily non-behavioral conditions of life, and therefore, intrinsically benign. Homosexuality and transsexuality are none of these things."
In this article, Trevin Wax analyzes the Amazon Prime television show, "Transparent"—a show about an older man who transitions to a "female" persona. Wax says, "Our society’s songs, movies, and books don’t just communicate a message; some of them they may actually be specifically designed to promote a political cause. The ability to recognize propaganda and analyze it from the lens of a biblical worldview is more necessary than ever before."
Kentucky Senate leaders are ready to move forward with a bill that would allow county clerks to use forms that don't include their names when issuing marriage licenses. Senate President Robert Stivers said that Senate Bill 5 may be called for a hearing this coming week.. The bill would, in large part, codify Gov. Matt Bevin's Dec. 23 executive order to remove the name of county clerks from marriage license forms.
Kentucky clerk Kim Davis has obeyed orders to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in the months since she spent five nights in jail for refusing to do so, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. United States District Judge David Bunning denied the American Civil Liberties Union's request to order Davis to reissue licenses she had altered to remove her name and title or face the possibility of further punishment. Bunning said the licenses issued by Davis are probably valid under Kentucky law.
Joe Carter writes on the possibility of women being drafted into the U.S. Military, which leaders in the Army and Marine Corps support, along with three GOP presidential candidates. He says, "Forcing women to register with the Selective Service is likely to happen within the next few years. But the need for them to be drafted is likely still decades away. In the meantime, we can continue to pray for a moral revolution, and that we’ll wake up to the realization that a nation that sends its young women to fight its wars is a nation that may no longer be worth defending."
A Georgia House panel on Monday approved a bill preventing businesses from discriminating based on race, country of origin, or religion—a federal standard first set in the mid-1960s—after Republican members rejected an amendment that would have added "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to the bill. The amendment, sponsored by Rep. Taylor Bennett, D-Brookhaven, would also have added sex, age, disability, and military service.
The South Dakota House of Representatives advanced a measure on a 46-10 vote Monday that would allow people or organizations to discriminate against same-sex couples, unmarried pregnant women, or transvestites without jeopardizing state contracts or employment. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Scott Craig, R-Rapid City, said the proposal is about protecting freedom of speech for those with conservative views. The measure now moves to the Senate.
Those who want to ban discrimination against homosexuals and transvestites in Florida will have one more shot Tuesday to pass SB 120, dubbed the Competitive Workforce Act. The bill failed on a rare tie vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday after five Republicans voiced concerns about banning discrimination in public accommodations. Lawmakers resuscitated it and scheduled it for a vote in the same committee at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Sen. Joe Abruzzo, D-Lake Worth, the bill’s sponsor, said he will work overnight to clear up those worries.
Two North Carolina lawmakers and a magistrate have asked a federal court to let them defend a religious exemption law involving marriages challenged as discriminatory. Senate leader Phil Berger, House Speaker Tim Moore and Alexander County Magistrate Brenda Bumgarner filed motions this week to intervene in the lawsuit as additional defendants, represented by private lawyers. They contend that Attorney General Roy Cooper cannot adequately defend a law that he is known to personally oppose.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York on Saturday announced a series of measures intended to eliminate conversion therapy, a practice that seeks to reverse same-sex attraction. Cuomo’s plan relies on economic incentives meant to discourage conversion therapy’s use on young people. Insurers in New York, for instance, will now be prohibited from covering the cost of such therapy for anyone under 18.
Dallas Democrats are demanding the resignation of a Dallas County justice of the peace who says he won’t perform same-sex ceremonies despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s claim that Texas' marriage amendment is unconstitutional. In his public Facebook page, Bill Metzger wrote this week that his Catholic faith prevents him from performing "marriages" other than "traditional" ones.
North Carolina’s newest religious liberty law, Senate Bill 2-Magistrates Recusal for Civil Ceremonies, is being challenged in court, and Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit legal advocacy group, is attempting to intervene in order to defend it. Liberty Counsel filed a motion to intervene on Thursday to come to the aid of approximately 30 North Carolina magistrates who have lawfully recused themselves from solemnizing marriages.
Speaking with a local television station just days before the New Hampshire primary, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump discussed his views on how "gay rights" would fit into a Trump presidency. "When President Trump is in office, can we look for more forward motion on equality for gays and lesbians?" reporter Sue O'Connell asked. "Well, you can and look - again, we're going to bring people together," Trump responded.
The "Pastor Protection Act," the first of several proposed religious exemptions for Obergefell opponents to gain any traction this year, won approval Thursday in a Georgia House Judiciary subcommittee and was sent on for a full committee vote. At least 8 bills filed by lawmakers would grant a variety of exemptions for people who object to treating same-sex unions as "marriages" — including one measure allowing private business to refuse participation in a same-sex ceremony.
The Christian family at the center of the same-sex "marriage" cake suit have said they will take "strength from God" after being forced to wait another four months to fight their case. A High Court appeal by the owners of Ashers Baking Company, who were fined for discrimination, was brought to a halt yesterday after a last-minute intervention by the Attorney General, who raised questions over Northern Ireland's equality legislation.
The Christian family at the center of the same-sex "marriage" cake suit have said they will take "strength from God" after being forced to wait another four months to fight their case. A High Court appeal by the owners of Ashers Baking Company, who were fined for discrimination, was brought to a halt yesterday after a last-minute intervention by the Attorney General, who raised questions over Northern Ireland's equality legislation.
South Dakota could soon become the first state in the nation to pass legislation that would ban students from using public school bathrooms, locker rooms and showers that are reserved for the opposite sex. The bill, HB 1008, passed the House last week by a vote of 58 to 10. Rep. Fred Deutsch, the bill's primary sponsor, views his legislation as a necessary response to what he considers “aggressive” actions on behalf of the Obama administration against federally-funded schools.
Minnesota-based Deluxe Financial Services has been ordered to pay $115,000 to a Mr. Austin for not letting him use the women's bathroom. Austin was hired and employed in the Phoenix offices of Deluxe, but in 2011, he announced to his supervisor that he considered himself a woman and began dressing as a female at work. The "harm" done to Austin includes denying him access to the women's bathroom, referring to him with the "wrong gender pronouns," and refusing to change his name to "Britney" on company records.
In this article, Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr. writes on the progress of the sexual revolution. He says, "And yet, even as we understand this revolution to be a new thing, its roots are not recent. As a matter of fact, the church has seen the sexual revolution taking place turn by turn for the better part of the last century. What now becomes clear is that most Christians vastly underestimated the challenge this sexual revolution would present."