If you’re a regular listener or reader of The Strident Conservative, you know how the LGBT agenda has been exposed as a movement that seeks, not equality, but the complete and total destruction of morality and the Christian faith.
In a piece I wrote last week on the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage ruling, I highlighted the work of the Gay Mafia and how it has successfully persecuted and prosecuted Christian-owned businesses for refusing to embrace the lifestyle choices of LGBT individuals. I also provided an update on the movement’s latest efforts to destroy God’s definition of male and female by promoting transgenderism.
In the name of “equality” and “civil rights,” the LGBT movement demands the right for men and boys to use the same bathrooms and showers as women and girls . . . even in our public schools. And while we have witnessed pockets of resistance to their demands in places like North Carolina–even as Obama, Hollywood and the NBA attempted to blackmail them for doing so–we have also seen states like Georgia and cities like New York City embrace the trans movement with the full force of the law.
Even as Christian businesses began to fall in the aftermath of the same-sex marriage ruling, politicians and the courts assured people of faith that they would never see their places of worship forced to violate their beliefs within the church walls.
Besides the fact that this is still a violation of the First Amendment–we have freedom of religion, not freedom of worship–it turns out that this was a lie.
In a FOX News opinion piece by Todd Starnes, a recently released brochure by the Iowa Civil Rights Commission states that churches must comply with transgender bathroom laws because they consider a church a place of public accommodation. And according to Hiram Sasser of First Liberty Institute–the law firm representing Cornerstone World Outreach in their case challenging the Iowa regulation–the law has implications beyond bathroom usage:
“It further compels our client to use specific pronouns when referring to certain ‘gender identities’ and prohibits our client from even teaching its religious beliefs.” (emphasis mine)
And just in case you think this is perhaps being taken out of context, Starnes provides the entire answer provided by the Iowa Civil Rights Commission from a section of the literature titled, “Does This Law Apply Churches?”
“Does this law apply to churches? Sometimes. Iowa law provides that these protections do not apply to religious institutions with respect to any religion-based qualifications when such qualifications are related to bona fide religious purpose. Where qualifications are not related to a bona fide religious purpose, churches are still subject to the law’s provisions. (e.g. a child care facility operated at a church or a church service open to the public).”
The state’s claim that they have the power to regulate churches in this way is particularly troubling. The feds already threaten churches with the loss of their tax-exempt status if they speak of politics from the pulpit. What would happen if an effort such as the one we are witnessing in the state of Iowa eventually grew into a federal right to dictate what can be preached?
When you consider that the LGBT agenda has evolved from an issue of morality to an issue of civil rights, it’s not that much of a leap.
David Leach is the owner of The Strident Conservative, your source for opinion that’s politically-incorrect and always “right.” His articles can also be found on RedState.com.
His daily radio commentary is nationally syndicated with Salem Radio Network and can be heard on stations across America.
