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Yesterday I wrote and talked about on the radio the fact that Congress is moving toward enshrining so-called "same-sex marriage" into U.S. law.
Thursday, on the Senate floor and on the record, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D) proclaimed that "faith has been justified" and "no one can stop the gay marriage bill now."
All 50 Democrats and 12 Republican senators voted to advance the bill, allowing for debate to start on the measure and moving the legislation closer to a final vote.
Here's what has happened during the last 24 hours.
Be informed, not misled.
Schumer: "It is now a certainty."
Senator Schumer said Thursday,
“Yesterday's vote was a vindication that it was well worth the wait. While nothing was inevitable about the result, I never lost faith that deep down enough of our colleagues would understand how important it was to get this bill done. I'm glad that that faith has now been justified. While some may want to delay passage, while some may want to delay, delay this process. Make no mistake, there's no stopping this bill from final passage.”
This bill is deceptive and misleading.
However, I think most know exactly what they are doing.
Religious liberty proponents say the amendment does nothing to shield Americans who have a traditional view of marriage from being targeted under the law. Heritage Action for America Executive Director Jessica Anderson released a statement saying RFMA is an “unnecessary piece of legislation that provides for lawsuits against those who simply hold a different view on marriage.”
She continued:
"It seeks to put the federal government in charge of marriage, wipes out the rights of individuals to act in accordance with their personal beliefs, and discriminates against religious people treating them as bigots under the law. To make matters worse, the Senate is only now considering the bill in a lame-duck period after the American people voted."
Supporters of the legislation have said the expected consideration of a Tillis-Collins-Baldwin amendment, [to the original version], would address the religious liberty problems in the original bill — but it would not. It is a messaging exercise that has no teeth, and religious Americans would still be subject to discrimination and targeting under the bill. Any senator who’s serious about religious liberty would be insisting on the inclusion of Senator Mike Lee’s amendment based on the First Amendment Defense Act, which would actually protect religious liberty. Rather than respecting individuals, this legislation would open them up to persecution, fines, and punishment.
I talked about that yesterday.
The Heritage Foundation’s Roger Severino wrote that the so-called religious liberty amendment would “provide nothing that is not already guaranteed.”
And it doesn’t cover areas where forced participation in same-sex celebrations still occurs, such as with private bakers, florists, photographers, and other wedding vendors. …The drafters of these amendments are conjuring the illusion of religious freedom while undercutting it at every turn.
"To be clear," he continues, "there is no risk of any legally married same-sex couple losing any of their benefits or legal status. So the only reason to add Congress’ explicit blessing for such unions now is to cement same-sex marriage as a national policy that can be used as a club by government agencies, such as the IRS, to deny traditional religious institutions tax-exempt status, licenses to assist in adoptions, and government funding and contracts."
Worse still, the Respect for Marriage Act would create a roving license for private parties to sue anyone who arguably is acting “under color of law” when providing government-funded or regulated family services such as adoption and foster care.
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said the bill “opens the door to American persecution.”
He said, "Not only is this language light years more radical than the justices’ ruling seven years ago — cracking down on parents, charities, adoption agencies, teachers, Christian schools, counselors, and Bible-believing professionals — the government would be declaring open season on anyone who believes in marriage as it’s always been: the union of a man and woman."
The advancement of RFMA is yet another instance of Senate Republicans providing the votes needed to pass overreaching Democrat legislation, which includes broad-sweeping bills concerning gun control and infrastructure.
This bill is a profile of caving and compromise.
Severino says, "But the House, which passed a version of the Respect for Marriage Act with no debate July 19, didn’t get the message and did nothing to address the undeniable concerns for religious liberty."
Some senators, however—namely Baldwin, Collins, and Romney—want to prop up this bad bill by offering an amendment that purports to address some of these concerns.
Don’t be fooled.
Bad lawyers draft excessively wordy amendments because they can’t help it, but cunning ones do it when they are trying to misdirect. Here, the amendment sponsors recite “factual findings,” “rules of construction,” “religious liberty,” and “respect” all over the place, but in ways that are meaningless because they either aren’t given any effect or are limited to irrelevance by other provisions.
The New York Times ran a headline yesterday: "Mormon Church Backs Bill Supporting Same-Sex Marriage."
The church still believes marriage is meant only for heterosexual couples, but it has softened its political stance in recent years.
Apparently, they are for same-sex marriage, and they are against it.
There is a move within the Christian community to toss Scripture aside when it doesn't conform to pop culture. We've seen denominations being torn apart---split, over the issue of homosexuality and so-called "same-sex marriage."
On July 12, 2017, the 84-year-old best-selling Christian author Eugene Peterson told University Presbyterian Church in Seattle, he "would perform a same-sex wedding if he were a pastor today."
That shocked millions of Christians.
In recent years we have seen a parade of Christian leaders conform to the world, instead of being transformed by the power of God regarding this single issue.
Takeaway:
1 John 4:1: "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world."
Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Engaged. Be Courageous. Be Prayerful.