Mayor Subpoenas Pastors: Bully Pulpit or Heterophopic Bullies?
The first lesbian mayor of Houston, Annise Parker, is demanding that all pastors in the city turn over their sermons regarding her, homosexuals or gender identity. And if they refuse? They might be charged with Contempt of Court.
According to Fox News’ correspondent, Todd Starnes:
ADF (Alliance Defending Freedom), a nationally-known law firm specializing in religious liberty cases, is representing five Houston pastors. They filed a motion in Harris County court to stop the subpoenas arguing they are ‘overbroad, unduly burdensome, harassing and vexatious.’ ‘Political and social commentary is not a crime,’ (ADF Attorney) Holcomb said. ‘It is protected by the First Amendment.’
The subpoenas are a result of Houston’s new anti-discrimination law passed in June which, among other things, allows men and women to use each other’s public restrooms.
The Houston Chronicle reports opponents of the law gathered 50,000 signatures— more than three times the required amount to qualify as a referendum on the ballot, but the city said there were irregularities with the petitions and dismissed them.
The opponents then filed a lawsuit and the city responded by sending subpoenas to area pastors who weren’t even part of the lawsuit; however, they were part of the group who opposed the ordinance.
Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council states:
This is an attempt to silence American pastors on today’s cultural issues. The state is breaching the wall of separation between church and state. Pastors need to step forward and challenge this across the country. I’d like to see literally thousands of pastors, after they read this story, begin to challenge government authorities—to dare them to come into their churches and demand their sermons.
I reached out to Pastor Jack Martin, Lead Pastor of Praise Family Worship Center in Spring Hill, Florida, and Pastor Cary Gordon, Executive Pastor of Cornerstone World Outreach in Sioux City, Iowa.
Pastor Jack Martin: “I hear the faint cry from Heaven, ‘Houston, we have a problem.’ The city officials should have read Psalm 2 which says, in part: ‘Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?’ I have a feeling we may have a real ‘Executive Order’ about to be given, and I don’t think Houston’s going to like it.”
Pastor Cary Gordon: “This is fascist, un-American garbage. The citizens responsible for electing this abusive Constitution wrecking ball of a mayor should vomit her back out of the political system immediately with the fastest legal option available to the citizenry; and if they do not demonstrate such repentance—a pox upon them all.”
Church, what do you plan on doing about this? Will you stand up to this growing discrimination against churches and Christians now before it’s too late? Do you have your pastor’s back?
