The Equality Act is Not What it Seems
This is one of the most dangerous pieces of legislation in the history of our county. It will make the LGBTQ community a protected class by erasing the Constitutionally protected rights of people who chose to live by their religious convictions. This ill-conceived legislation has already passed the House and will soon be up for a vote in the Senate. With Kamala Harris as the tie-breaker in the Senate, it is imperative that Democratic Senators understand that their support of this bill goes against the will of the majority of their constituents. Please write your Senators, especially if they are Democrats, and let them know that you do not support this bill. You can copy and use the letter I am sending, and edited version of it, or compose your own just please do not sit this one out. Here is a link to find who your Senators are and how to contact them.https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm
Here’s a copy of the letter I am sending
As one of your constituents, I am expressing my grave concern about the upcoming legislation called the Equality Act. Though well meaning, this overly broad, far reaching bill would have an extremely detrimental effect on American society.
The bill ignores the medically proven differences between biological males and females, denying the level playing field created for women by Title 9. It places women in danger by forcing them to dress and use the bathroom with fully intact biological males. There is nothing in the equality act that would protect women from a man fraudulently claiming to identify as a woman solely to gain access to women’s changing and bathroom facilities in order to sexually assault them.
This bill would force American citizens of faith and faith base institutions, to violate their Constitutionally protected right to practice the tenets of their religion. It would force hospitals run by faith-based organizations to perform gender reassignment surgeries and treatments, in contradiction to the teachings of the religious organizations that run them. An unintended consequence of this ill-conceived law could leave some areas without adequate medical care because it would force faith based medical facilities to shutter their doors rather than violate the word of God. Individuals and businesses would be forced to ignore their beliefs and participate in celebrations and ceremonies that would violate those beliefs. Pastors would be forced to alter their sermons if they teach the Biblical ideals of marriage and family, or if they teach that homosexuality is sinful. Not only, is there nothing in the Equality Act to protect the Constitutional rights of people of faith, but the act seeks to deny the rights protected under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993.
The Equality Act places children in danger by denying parents the right to refuse to allow their children to undergo dangerous, life altering, irreversible gender reassignment treatments. The act also provides no protection for children whose parents allow them to undergo these treatments without absolute assurance that the child is truly suffering from gender dysphoria, and not just going through “a phase”.
The concept that the discrimination this bill attempts to eliminate, is the cause of the anxiety and suicidal tendencies of the LGBTQ community, is not definitively proven.
As a United States Senator, it is your responsibility to uphold your oath to support and defend the Construction of the United States, by voting no on the Equality Act.
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On my way to Chic Fil A
Crowd at my local Chic Fil A
Today in stock yards all across the nation, the cattle enjoyed a one day stay of execution. That’s because there was little demand for beef as people crowded into their local Chic Fil A to show their support of Dan Cathy’s First Amendment rights. It was a thirty minute wait for those wonderful waffle fries and peach milkshakes. As my son and I stood in line, I was amazed by what I saw. The line reached around to the back of the building. The drive through line all the way though the parking lot, down the driveway and out to the highway. There were even cops directing the traffic. We had to park a lot away. People even showed up in a church bus.
They even came by bus.
The mood was neighborly, friendly and festive. What was even more impressive was what I didn’t see. There were no honking horns and hand gestures. No cutting in line. No bored indifferent employees. There were so many “thank you’s” and “pardon me’s” you would’ve thought it was a finishing school exam. Even those who may have disagreed with Dan Cathy’s position showed an enormous amount of class by not showing up to protest. I left with the impression that these people get it. This wasn’t a gay marriage thing, it wasn’t even a Christian thing. It was a Constitutional thing. When the government, be it local, state, or national, tries to silence the opinions of decent, moral, hardworking folks, we just can’t take that lying down. They didn’t during the Boston Tea Party, they didn’t on July 4th, 1776, and we didn’t on Aug 1st 2012.
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Putting Prayer Back in Public Schools
On Thursday, March 1st, the Florida State legislature passed SB, 98 www.flsenate.gov /Session/Bill/2012/0098/BillText/Filed/PDFwhich gives individual school districts the freedom to allow student led “inspirational messages” during mandatory assemblies and other school sponsored events. The bill was sponsored by a Democrat,
Image via Wikipedia
State Senator Gary Siplin, and was overwhelmingly passed with bi-partisan support. A fact that might surprise many conservatives and Evangelicals. The bill now awaits the probable signing from Governor Rick Scott. Other states are taking notice and waiting to see how this law will play out in the practical application of public school policy.
As a Christian and a mother, I should be elated about this. Over the past few decades we have seen the First Amendment being twisted and perverted into an instrument to deny Christians the right to freely practice our beliefs in public. Activities that are actually a positive influence on campus such as the annual See You At The Pole or groups such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes are routinely banned from school property even though these activities are completely voluntary and take place outside of regular class hours. Teachers are forbidden to acknowledge their Christian beliefs on their school website bios and are reprimanded for publicly expressing their beliefs even when they are outside of the school setting. This is wrong and is in opposition to the true intent of the First Amendment.
This bill, however, is a bad idea. The bill’s only strongpoint is that it puts the authority for implementation in the hands of the individual school boards. This is right because the boards are better able to determine the needs and beliefs of their communities better than the state government can. The bill seeks to protect the schools from First Amendment litigation by giving the responsibility for choosing, who delivers the message and its content, to the discretion of the students. School officials and employees are forbidden to interfere in any way with the students’ decisions. There is absolutely no way a school board can define what constitutes an “inspirational message” without violating the rights of one group or another. These messages could be anything from a prayer or devotional to an anarchist rant, or hate group rhetoric. Any student who has an ax to grind or just simply enjoys stirring up trouble will now have a platform. Time and precious school resources would be wasted on the litigation that is sure to ensue if any school board tries to implement rules to curb the chaos.
The school system in Florida has many challenges. Fixing a broken system of accountability is one. Though it is a well-intentioned attempt at restoring morality in the school system, this law will not work. The only way to improve the quality of education in Florida or anywhere else in this country is to remind the schools that their purpose is to serve their students, parents and taxpayer supporters, not the other way around. The only way to accomplish what this bill is trying to do, is to implement school choice.
Observations and Opinions of a Middle Aged Housewife 