CHURCHES, CHRISTIAN COLLEGES OPEN TO LITIGATION - "On Freedom, Democrats or Democritics?" - by Tony Perkins, Washington Update, July 9, 2015, http://www.frc.org/updatearticle/20150709/on-freedom-democrats
The same party that kicked God out of their platform wants to kick Him out of U.S. insurance policies too. Everyone from Barry Lynn to Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) is deploying their troops to a new battlefield: the church. Already, congregations are trying to prepare themselves for the storms ahead -- with many, National Review points out, frantically calling insurance companies to see what kind of coverage they have if they're sued for not performing same-sex "weddings."
The answer is: not much. "Churches, like virtually every functioning corporation, protect against liability risks and the potentially ruinous costs of litigation through liability insurance. With same-sex marriage now recognized as a constitutional right -- and with news of [the Kleins' $135,000 punishment - http://www.frc.org/washingtonupdate/20150709/lien-on-me]... pastors are reaching out to insurance companies to make sure they're covered." Unfortunately for them, David French writes, they aren't. "In other words: churches, you're on your own." [http://www.nationalreview.com/node/420928/print]
On one hand, the Left is trying to cripple churches' ability to fight back, and on the other, they're trying to strip away protections for the everyday believer. Like most liberals, DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz isn't hiding the fact that religious liberty is next on her kill list, especially for individual Americans. "I think [our country] made the distinction between protecting the First Amendment rights for religious organizations or religiously-affiliated organizations and being able to discriminate, broadly, simply because of one individual who owns a business and their own values and their being able to impose those values on either their employers or their customers," she told CBN's David Brody.
Once again, liberals are setting up the faulty argument that religious exercise must be confined to institutions -- not individuals. As any constitutional scholar would tell you, that's a deliberate distortion of the First Amendment! It's like saying the Second Amendment only applies in gun clubs. The reality is, and the Founders understood, religious liberty is a fundamental human freedom. In fact, it was Eleanor Roosevelt -- from Wasserman-Schultz's own party -- who chaired the drafting committee of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. And it could not be more clear: "[E]veryone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance."
What's happened to the Democratic Party? After 70 years, there's nothing "democratic" about it!
[bold, italics, and colored emphasis mine]
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"Libs Kick off Tour de Rants" - by Tony Perkins, Washington Update, July 08, 2015;http://www.frc.org/washingtonupdate/20150708/libs-tour-rants
"In the 12 days since the Supreme Court's marriage ruling, the Left's army is already marching on its next target: the First Amendment. At least two movements are finding more common ground in the wake of the decision -- secular and LGBT activists. The pair are becoming fast allies against what they view as a common enemy: religious freedom."
"Since June 26, that bond has only strengthened, as both sides converge on the church in the first wave of post-ruling attacks. Like us, they heard Solicitor General Donald Verrilli's threat to strip religious schools' tax exemptions and are moving quickly to turn that possibility into reality. Barry Lynn, a longtime thorn in the First Amendment's side, is the first to capitalize on this new foothold for religious crackdown, announcing yesterday that his Americans United for the Separation of Church and State would be launching an initiative to destroy the tax relief for faith-based schools. Starting with Christian colleges, Lynn's "Protect Thy Neighbor" project promises to use the IRS as a weapon to force same-sex "married" housing on universities with natural marriage views...." [bold and italics emphasis mine]
The same party that kicked God out of their platform wants to kick Him out of U.S. insurance policies too. Everyone from Barry Lynn to Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) is deploying their troops to a new battlefield: the church. Already, congregations are trying to prepare themselves for the storms ahead -- with many, National Review points out, frantically calling insurance companies to see what kind of coverage they have if they're sued for not performing same-sex "weddings."
The answer is: not much. "Churches, like virtually every functioning corporation, protect against liability risks and the potentially ruinous costs of litigation through liability insurance. With same-sex marriage now recognized as a constitutional right -- and with news of [the Kleins' $135,000 punishment - http://www.frc.org/washingtonupdate/20150709/lien-on-me]... pastors are reaching out to insurance companies to make sure they're covered." Unfortunately for them, David French writes, they aren't. "In other words: churches, you're on your own." [http://www.nationalreview.com/node/420928/print]
On one hand, the Left is trying to cripple churches' ability to fight back, and on the other, they're trying to strip away protections for the everyday believer. Like most liberals, DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz isn't hiding the fact that religious liberty is next on her kill list, especially for individual Americans. "I think [our country] made the distinction between protecting the First Amendment rights for religious organizations or religiously-affiliated organizations and being able to discriminate, broadly, simply because of one individual who owns a business and their own values and their being able to impose those values on either their employers or their customers," she told CBN's David Brody.
Once again, liberals are setting up the faulty argument that religious exercise must be confined to institutions -- not individuals. As any constitutional scholar would tell you, that's a deliberate distortion of the First Amendment! It's like saying the Second Amendment only applies in gun clubs. The reality is, and the Founders understood, religious liberty is a fundamental human freedom. In fact, it was Eleanor Roosevelt -- from Wasserman-Schultz's own party -- who chaired the drafting committee of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. And it could not be more clear: "[E]veryone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance."
What's happened to the Democratic Party? After 70 years, there's nothing "democratic" about it!
[bold, italics, and colored emphasis mine]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Libs Kick off Tour de Rants" - by Tony Perkins, Washington Update, July 08, 2015;http://www.frc.org/washingtonupdate/20150708/libs-tour-rants
"In the 12 days since the Supreme Court's marriage ruling, the Left's army is already marching on its next target: the First Amendment. At least two movements are finding more common ground in the wake of the decision -- secular and LGBT activists. The pair are becoming fast allies against what they view as a common enemy: religious freedom."
"Since June 26, that bond has only strengthened, as both sides converge on the church in the first wave of post-ruling attacks. Like us, they heard Solicitor General Donald Verrilli's threat to strip religious schools' tax exemptions and are moving quickly to turn that possibility into reality. Barry Lynn, a longtime thorn in the First Amendment's side, is the first to capitalize on this new foothold for religious crackdown, announcing yesterday that his Americans United for the Separation of Church and State would be launching an initiative to destroy the tax relief for faith-based schools. Starting with Christian colleges, Lynn's "Protect Thy Neighbor" project promises to use the IRS as a weapon to force same-sex "married" housing on universities with natural marriage views...." [bold and italics emphasis mine]
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