June is Pride Month, a time when many who identify as LGBT will spend this month celebrating that identity. As Christians, we are saddened by the celebrations of this month, because not only do we know that Pride Month is a celebration of sin, but we also know that we will never be free until we find our identity, salvation, and hope in Jesus Christ.
Yet, that very realization makes Pride Month an incredible opportunity for prayer and for the Gospel to go forth.
So today, at the beginning of June, I want to share two things with you: an answer to your questions on this topic, and a prayer for our LGBT neighbors.
Answering Your Questions
First off, an exciting announcement: we are pleased to announce that we’re launching a new video series! Ask Meridian is an opportunity for you to send us your questions – and get answers! Last month, we kicked off this initiative by asking you to send us the family policy questions you’ve always wanted someone to answer. Among the many submissions were questions asking how you could express your views on sexuality in a loving way.
We know this can be a challenging conversation to approach.
So, today, we are pleased to release to you the first video in the series: How to Love Your LGBT Neighbor. In this video, I share when and how to talk about our views on sexuality with friends and family who identify as LGBT. We hope you find this helpful!
Click here to watch:
Have a question for a future Ask Meridian episode? Send us an email at mail@familypolicyalliance.com!
A Prayer for Our LGBT Neighbors
This month, will you join me in this prayer?
| Lord, in this month our hearts are heavy for those who identify as LGBT. Your Word is clear about both sin and salvation – and our own consciences testify to this truth – yet so many live with the hope that they will find their “true self” or even their worldly salvation in a broken identity.
So this month, we lift up this challenging issue before you. For those within the walls of the church who may claim the identity of LGBT, we pray for the work of your Holy Spirit and of the Church to call those in sin to repentance. For those Christians who continue to struggle in this area, and yet who choose faithfulness to your Word, we pray for great faith and encouragement. For those who are uncertain about their fearfully and wonderfully made bodies, we pray for peace and confidence that you did not make a mistake – that they were not born in the wrong body. For children who are hearing messages that make them question their own sexuality, we pray for protection over their minds and hearts. For all those who identify as LGBT, or who are struggling with their sexual identity in another way, we pray that they would find the joy and freedom that only comes from following you as Lord. We pray that their hearts would be opened to see sin for what it is – and to see the joy of your salvation as greater. For those in ministry to our LGBT neighbors, we pray for the strength to speak the truth in love – and more than anything, to make your Gospel known in the words they say and in the way they live. For those of us with LGBT friends and family, we pray for great love and great discernment. For each of us, we pray the hard prayer for conviction of our own sin and for freedom in repentance. We pray that our first priority – in our own hearts and in our conversations – would always be the magnification of Christ. We pray that our identities would not be rooted first in our work, our sexuality, or even our families, but that we could say as Paul that for us, to live is Christ. May our identity, our security, our salvation be ever fixed to you – and may that be first in our hearts and in our words. Lord, this month we pray that as we speak the truth, the manner in which we speak it would be such that we are known by our love. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. |
I hope you’ll join me in that prayer this month, and that the Lord will give you wisdom if you have opportunities to speak into the lives of LGBT neighbors.
Sincerely,
Meridian Baldacci
Policy and Communications Strategist
I refuse to give up. I reject the notion that post-modern lies are impenetrable by eternal truth. I resist the temptation to draw back as an alienated imbittered cultural observer and allow the inevitable to cripple society. Despite the challenging times biblical Christians are experiencing, we must not lose heart.
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
Romans 15:4
The Apostle Paul was writing to believers facing intense persecution by the hands of Imperial Rome. Pax Romana (i.e. roman peace) was based on Greek logic, human conscience, and their gods of power. It was not based on objective moral truth as revealed by the Creator. In the eyes of Rome, monotheism was a simplistic concept practiced by the unassimilated Jewish people. Their commitment to their temple God in Jerusalem was tolerated by the emperors but converted gentile Christians were required to adhere to the polytheistic religious views of Roman tradition or face legal repercussions. Yet, this oppressed religious minority of faithful Christ followers had hope! As those believers in the first century, we also must lean on the historic truths that were recorded for our encouragement.
The recent ruling by the Supreme Court to redefine the word “sex” to include sexual desires and subjective non-binary identities is an assault on the Constitution. The courts can not legislate from the bench. Their limited power can only rule if a current law is unconstitutional and must be readdressed by the Legislative branch – Congress. Monday’s decision did not send the 1964 Civil Rights Act back for further debate and congressional deliberation. It simply changed the meaning of the word “sex” as the Supreme Court changed the meaning of the word “marriage” in 2015.
This is the post-modern view of reality – a world where words have no clear objective meaning.
As significant as this is for the nation, New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination already included sexual orientation in 1991 and gender identity in 2006 as protected classes of employment. The aftermath of the Supreme Court’s ruling is unknown but troublesome. Religious organizations, such as churches, are protected by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. Unfortunately, religious employers – people of devout faith who own private businesses – are not. Sadly, there are extreme voices on the Left, such as Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney D- N.Y., who claims “religious liberty is as a bogus term for discrimination.”
This is why our work at Family Policy Alliance of New Jersey® is so important to you, your family and your church. We are committed to advocating for public policies that protect life, religious liberty and parental rights in education; in addition to identifying and electing legislators who will uphold your values in the legislative chambers in Trenton. Would you consider a gift this week to strengthen our efforts?
Let’s make NJ better,
Shawn Hyland
Director of Advocacy
The LGBT curriculum mandate is still on schedule to be implemented in the upcoming 2020-2021 school year. I want to share with you this dangerous agenda each week by exposing the lesson plans of Garden State Equality. They are using the power of government coercion to force radical sexual and political beliefs onto students.
My forthcoming weekly emails will include images of actual lessons Garden State Equality has developed and are offering to schools. This information will help to explain why these lessons have no place in our public-school classrooms.
Please download and share the weekly resource with parents, educators, legislators, and others.
We believe public schools should be neutral in their presentation of religious beliefs, worldview, and political ideology.
This week’s GSE lesson reveal is on “Access Points to Third Graders”
GSE Curriculum Revealed: Access Points to Third Graders
Click on image above to download a printable version of this week’s resource.
THE LESSON: Lesson Matrix for Further Development of Final Curriculum
GSE specifically targets 8-year-old children with LGBT themed mornings, 9-year-old children with political sexual beliefs and 11-year-old children with transgender literature reading assignments
1) GSE lesson matrix has listed activities in 3rd and 4th grade. This includes “Inclusive Morning Meetings: strategies for Greeting, Sharing, and Group Activities.” 4th grade Physical Education lessons include “Dancing to be Free: (LGTB) Black Dancers of the 20th century.” 6th grade Literature assignments include reading the biographical information on “Babs Siperstein” – the first transgender political activist in NJ .
2) GSE curriculum writers specifically emphasize in their comments the lessons must be structured to be “intersectional.” Intersectionality is a political theory that places value on being oppressed. This is the basis of identity politics. This lesson leverages historic injustices towards African Americans as a cover to claim victimhood and oppression by those who identify as gay, lesbian, transgender or other.
3) The state mandated LGBT curriculum law requires the teaching of “contributions” of LGBT identifying individuals in middle school and above. Third and Fourth grade are considered elementary level grades.
THE PROBLEM: Sexual Propaganda Pushed in Elementary School
First Problem: GSE has plans to “meet and greet” students with transgender activists or other LGBT speakers in classroom group meetings to push their agenda to younger more vulnerable ages. GSE lesson developers (above in red circle) specifically state “I don’t teach elementary school and I have never run a morning meeting, but I think these strategies [the morning meet and greet will provide more] access points”. Our young children are nothing more than access points for Garden State Equality to promote their ethical and sexual belief systems.
Second Problem: Studies show that 80-95% of children suffering from confusion about their gender identity, that do not receive medical intervention outgrow these feelings by the time they reach adulthood. Yet, 100% of children who receive medical intervention will have gender identity disorders persist into adulthood. Tragically, after sex reassignment surgery, people are 20x’s more likely to die from suicide. GSE’s curriculum teaches students it is good and healthy to ask themselves if their “gender identity” matches their “biological sex” in spite of all medical evidence to the contrary.
THE HARM: Indoctrinates our children
These non-educational meet and greets indoctrinate our children forcing them to “rethink” their understanding of the biological differences of male and female. GSE’s curriculum teaches the very real concepts of male and female are simply arbitrary and have no basis in anatomy or genetics—the exact opposite of what is true! In their eyes, the historic, global and scientific view of human sexuality is ignorant and bigoted—and this is taught to our children.
Worldview: GSE’S curriculum instructs students to adopt a postmodern worldview of human sexuality and gender identity. Postmodernists question the fundamental meaning of words like “boy” and “girl”.
THE SOLUTION: Parental Rights in education
Sign our petition to support the right of parents to opt their child out of lessons and materials that violate their religious or moral beliefs regarding sex, sexuality or gender identity. Volunteer to contact NJ Legislators to pass legislation to protect families from this dangerous agenda.
Download a printable version of this information
I want to encourage you to join one of our legislative district mobilization teams to contact elected officials about this curriculum. Please email me your interest at newjersey@familypolicyalliance.com. Finally, I urge you to share this email or the downloadable lesson file with your network of friends and pastors.
Together, we can make NJ better,
Shawn Hyland
Director of Advocacy
Read other articles in this Series:
#1 – GSE Curriculum Revealed: Transgenderism
#2- GSE Curriculum Revealed: Gender Norms are Oppressive
#3 – GSE Curriculum Revealed: The Spanish Language is Discriminatory
The LGBT curriculum mandate is still on schedule to be implemented in the upcoming 2020-2021 school year. I want to share with you this dangerous agenda each week by exposing the lesson plans of Garden State Equality. They are using the power of government coercion to force radical sexual and political beliefs onto students.
My forthcoming weekly emails will include images of actual lessons Garden State Equality has developed and are offering to schools. This information will help to explain why these lessons have no place in our public-school classrooms.
Please download and share the weekly resource with parents, educators, legislators, and others.
We believe public schools should be neutral in their presentation of religious beliefs, worldview, and political ideology.
This week’s GSE lesson reveal is on “The Spanish Language is Discriminatory”
GSE Curriculum Revealed: The Spanish Language Is Discriminatory
Click on images above to download a printable version of this week’s resource.
THE LESSON: “Lesson 1 Spanish Level one (Novice)- Inclusive Language” Proposed for 8th grade and up
This lesson uses Spanish language classes to teach Spanish is a discriminatory language.
This lesson declares, “Spanish is a language that functions in a binary way,” and is unlike English which has “adopted gender neutral terms.” It’s true all nouns in Spanish are classified as “male” or “female” nouns. Other languages like German and French also have “lexical genders”. The GSE curriculum is teaching our children that the Spanish language itself is inherently discriminatory and non-inclusive because it only recognizes two “genders”!
THE PROBLEM: Working to Dismantle World Languages
First Problem:The “lexical gender” in languages do not reflect how sex and gender work in the real-world. .
Second Problem: This lesson doesn’t attempt at all to include the contributions of Spanish-speaking LGBT identifying persons, which is all the new law requires. GSE has already admitted they want to teach students to become activists to “dismantle” all things that “oppose” their worldview. It is clear this is the goal with the proposed Spanish lesson. Garden State Equality uses this lesson to teach the Spanish language itself is oppressive to LGBT people. It forces our students to take up the gauntlet for GSE’s absurd cause by teaching them to subtly change the Spanish language. Here is a link to a video GSE shares as a resource for teachers explaining “why” Spanish must change to become more “inclusive.”
THE HARM: Indoctrinates our children
This so-called Spanish lesson indoctrinates our children into believing the English language is neutral and inclusive, unlike Spanish (as long as the English language is not enforcing gender “stereotypes” like using gender-based pronouns such as “he” and “she”). This lesson explicitly teaches our students “right” language is language that conforms to their ideology. This ideology includes ideas that one can change their sex (from male to female or vice versa) and that all sexual orientations are acceptable and healthy. Binary-gender-based languages, like Spanish, according to GSE are morally inferior and must be changed to affirm and encourage the truth of their radical ideas.
Worldview: This instructs students to adopt a post-modern worldview by deconstructing words and their meanings to invent new words and relative definitions in order to construct a different reality.
THE SOLUTION: Parental Rights in education
Sign our petition to support the right of parents to opt their child out of lessons and materials that violate their religious or moral beliefs regarding sex, sexuality or gender identity. Volunteer to contact NJ Legislators to pass legislation to protect families from this dangerous agenda.
Download a printable version of this information
I want to encourage you to join one of our legislative district mobilization teams to contact elected officials about this curriculum. Please email me your interest at newjersey@familypolicyalliance.com. Finally, I urge you to share this email or the downloadable lesson file with your network of friends and pastors.
Together, we can make NJ better,
Shawn Hyland
Director of Advocacy
Read other articles in this Series:
#1 – GSE Curriculum Revealed: Transgenderism
#2- GSE Curriculum Revealed: Gender Norms are Oppressive
#4 – GSE Curriculum Revealed: Access Points to Third Graders
The LGBT curriculum mandate is still on schedule to be implemented in the upcoming 2020-2021 school year. I want to share with you this dangerous agenda each week by exposing the lesson plans of Garden State Equality. They are using the power of government coercion to force radical sexual and political beliefs onto students.
My forthcoming weekly emails will include images of actual lessons Garden State Equality has developed and are offering to schools. This information will help to explain why these lessons have no place in our public-school classrooms.
Please download and share the weekly resource that is linked to the email to parents, educators, legislators, and others.
We believe public schools should be neutral in their presentation of religious beliefs, worldview, and political ideology.
This week’s GSE lesson reveal is on “Transgenderism and Gender Identity”
GSE Curriculum Revealed: Transgenderism
Click on images to download a printable version of this week’s resource.
THE LESSON: Understanding Patriarchy and its Role in Colonial American Social, Political, And Economic Institutions – Grade Level: 8
This lesson teaches sex-based distinctions are oppressive
1) GSE teaches the belief “Power, opportunity, access, and representation” is “shared equally” in our society is a myth. Teaches “intersectionality” which is a modern political idea requiring students to “revise” their thinking that all men are created equal. Intersectionality is a political theory that places value on being oppressed –the greater number of offenses your group has “suffered”, the more virtuous you are. This also means less oppressed groups have less moral authority.
2) The stated purpose of the lesson is to deconstruct the patriarchy, according to GSE, that is “a social structural phenomenon in which males have the privilege of dominance over females.” They accuse straight males of dominating and oppressing females and males that want to be female.
THE PROBLEM: Working to Dismantle Social Norms of Male and Female
First Problem: GSE’s lesson states, “long-standing social structures”, like “the patriarchy” or the reality of “male” and “female” are oppressive and must be dismantled. These lessons encourage students to discuss how these structures “prevented the growth of personal freedom” and “human dignity”. In addition to teaching radical ideology as truth, this particular ideology can be traced to Karl Marx –the father of communism. Marx taught structures that drive society are built like a pyramid. According to GSE, straight men are at the top of the pyramid “hoarding power”.
Second Problem: Post-modernist emphasis on group identity minimizes the experience and the uniqueness of each individual. Identity politics produces division because it teaches our students their classmates (and all of society) is divided into oppressors v. oppressed; powerful v. weak; privileged v. victims. GSE’s lessons are not about finding solutions to genuine wrongs. Their lessons are a tool for cultural Marxism and encourage self-identified oppressed groups to rise-up to the top of the so-called pyramid, while oppressing others with their new powerful and moral voice.
THE HARM: Indoctrinates our children
As Christians, we believe men and women are created equal with unique differences. God’s purpose in our sexuality is for a male and female to be partners together in marriage to build a strong family which helps society flourish. In addition, fathers in a family have a biblical responsibility to lead well. This belief, rooted in creation and the Fatherhood of God, is now presented to our children as bigoted and oppressive.
Worldview: This GSE lesson instructs students to adopt a postmodern worldview that believes the hierarchy or the power to rule is more important than anything. Facts, truth, or reality should not stand in the way.
THE SOLUTION: Parental Rights in education
Sign our petition to support the right of parents to opt their child out of lessons and materials that violate their religious or moral beliefs regarding sex, sexuality or gender identity. Volunteer to contact NJ Legislators to pass legislation to protect families from this dangerous agenda.
Download a printable version of this information
I want to encourage you to join one of our legislative district mobilization teams to contact elected officials about this curriculum. Please email me your interest at newjersey@familypolicyalliance.com. Finally, I urge you to share this email or the downloadable lesson file with your network of friends and pastors.
Together, we can make NJ better,
Shawn Hyland
Director of Advocacy
Read other articles in this Series:
#1 – GSE Curriculum Revealed: Transgenderism
#3 – GSE Curriculum Revealed: The Spanish Language is Discriminatory
#4 – GSE Curriculum Revealed: Access Points to Third Graders
The LGBT curriculum mandate is still on schedule to be implemented in the upcoming 2020-2021 school year. I want to share with you this dangerous agenda each week by exposing the lesson plans of Garden State Equality. They are using the power of government coercion to force radical sexual and political beliefs onto students.
My forthcoming weekly emails will include images of actual lessons Garden State Equality has developed and are offering to schools. This information will help to explain why these lessons have no place in our public-school classrooms.
Please download and share the weekly resource that is linked to the email to parents, educators, legislators, and others.
We believe public schools should be neutral in their presentation of religious beliefs, worldview, and political ideology.
This week’s GSE lesson reveal is on “Transgenderism and Gender Identity”
GSE Curriculum Revealed: Transgenderism
Click on any images to download a printable version of this week’s resource.
THE LESSON: Presentation of Transgenderism and Gender Identity to Parents
These slides present a subjective view of sexual ethics and gender identities
1) GSE’s FAQ’s teach against millennia of human knowledge — that sex presents itself as male and female — is a social falsehood that oppresses everyone who disagrees. This “gender ideology” actually forces already vulnerable students to question their own identities which causes great unnecessary confusion and distress for students who already struggle with anxiety or confusion about their bodies or sense of self.
2) GSE’s FAQ’s teach “gender identity” is how one feels about their sex, even if that is opposite to their biology. They also teach “gender expression” is based on “appearance, behavior, or mannerisms.” According to GSE one’s sex, gender identity, and gender expression might all be different. These lessons would force a boy student, for example, who has interests in traditionally “feminine” things, to reconsider his “gender identity” and “expression”. These radical social ideas are unscientific beliefs about human sexuality and should not be forced into the public-school classroom. GSE regards any dissension or disagreement as discriminatory and oppressive. Here is a link to a video GSE shares as a resource for teachers to help explain gender identity to students.
THE PROBLEM: Disregard of science and documented health risks
First Problem: Studies show that 80-95% of children suffering from confusion about their gender identity, that do not receive medical intervention outgrow these feelings by the time they reach adulthood. Yet, 100% of children who receive medical intervention will have gender identity disorders persist into adulthood. Tragically, after sex reassignment surgery, people are 20x’s more likely to die from suicide. GSE’s curriculum teaches students it is good and healthy to ask themselves if their “gender identity” matches their “biological sex” in spite of all medical evidence to the contrary.
Second Problem: GSE’s dangerous agenda persuasively convinces children to deny objective reality in exchange for a falsehood. The lesson teaches and encourages all children to question biological reality and consider whether they are living life as their true selves. The view that people can choose their “gender” is wildly controversial and has no basis in science. Radical social ideology should not be in our classrooms.
THE HARM: Indoctrinates our children
This so-called inclusive view of gender identity indoctrinates our children forcing them to “rethink” their understanding of the biological differences of male and female. GSE’s curriculum teaches the very real concepts of male and female is arbitrary and has no basis in anatomy or genetics—the exact opposite of what is true! In their eyes, the historic, global, and scientific view of human sexuality is ignorant and bigoted and this is taught to our children. GSE’s curriculum demands students become allies, if not activists, to promote a new sexual ethic despite their prior beliefs.
Worldview: GSE’S curriculum instructs students to adopt a postmodern worldview of human sexuality and gender identity. Postmodernists question the fundamental meaning of words like “boy” and “girl” and the role of language in how our children think. GSE’s curriculum is thoroughly postmodernist and tells our students they must break down the relationship between a word and its meaning, in order to understand the world. This is senseless. For example, if you claim a boy is not a boy what truth have you left our students with? None. For postmodernists objective truth does not exist and feelings, not facts, determine personal reality and truth.
THE SOLUTION: Parental Rights in education
Support the right of parents to opt their child out of lessons and materials that violate their religious or moral beliefs regarding sex, sexuality or gender identity. Email newjersey@familypolicyalliance.com to sign our petition and to contact NJ Legislators to pass legislation to protect families from this dangerous agenda.
Download a printable version of this information
I want to encourage you to join one of our legislative district mobilization teams to contact elected officials about this curriculum. Please email me your interest at newjersey@familypolicyalliance.com. Finally, I urge you to share this email or the downloadable lesson file with your network of friends and pastors.
Together, we can make NJ better,
Shawn Hyland
Director of Advocacy
Read other articles in this Series:
#2 – GSE Curriculum Revealed: Gender Norms Are Oppressive
#3 – GSE Curriculum Revealed: The Spanish Language is Discriminatory
#4 – GSE Curriculum Revealed: Access Points to Third Graders
Dear Friends,
The NJ Department of Education is drafting the Student Learning Standards to be implemented in the 2020-2021 school year. Several subjects currently under review include Comprehensive Health and Physical Education (CHPE), Visual and Performing Arts (VPA), Science, Social Studies, and World Languages.
Garden State Equality’s lesson plans inject LGBT curriculum into all these subjects! However, school districts are not required to use their indoctrination program.
Garden State Equality, a political LGBT lobbying group, pressured legislators to pass the law, launched a Pilot Program that 200 schools showed interest in, was scheduled to host the LGBTQ-Inclusive Curriculum Conference at Monmouth University in May, and has been working with the Department of Education to help write the guidelines for school districts to follow.
But now it’s your turn to speak!
The NJDOE values input from parents and educators on the development of these learning standards. The deadline to submit your views is Monday, March 30. You can easily share your thoughts with the NJ Department of Education by using our Action Center.
The radical left’s sexual indoctrination should not be forced upon our children!
Facts About New Jersey’s LGBT Curriculum Mandate
- This law violates the fundamental and constitutional rights of parents to direct the moral and educational upbringing of their children. It was written with no opt-out protection – nor protections for families who have religious and moral objections to the content.
- This law forces radical sexual ideology and it’s indoctrination into the minds and hearts of our children – again, without parental recourse.
- This law encourages revisionist history and teaches children that they’re no more than the sum of their sexual desires and feelings.
- This law removed the word accuracy that was in the original bill language and replaced it with inclusive instructional material. In other words, positive feelings – not proven facts – are fundamental to the lesson plan development.
Don’t delay. Public comments end Monday, March 30. Use our action center to contact the NJ Department of Education.
Sincerely,
Shawn Hyland
Director of Advocacy
Dear Friends,
Your voice is needed to protect New Jersey children today!
Impressionable students – our children and grandchildren – are about to be forced to endure radical LGBT sexual indoctrination in the classroom. That’s after state lawmakers ignored the comments of their constituents and instead bowed to the pressure of powerful lobbying groups.
Beginning in the 2020-2021 school year, a new mandated curriculum will require textbook authors to speculate about the sexual preferences and gender identity of noteworthy historical figures – and then impose this false narrative on our children in public schools. The radical left’s endless obsession with sexuality should not be forced upon our children!
Your voice is needed to speak out for parental rights amid these changes.
The sexual indoctrination of our children must end.
Parents should know that the scope of these changes affects every subject in school, and it takes away their right to opt their children out of the questionable instruction. In many ways, this instruction will directly challenge Biblical teaching on homosexuality and what parents choose to teach children at home.
Facts About New Jersey’s LGBT Curriculum Mandate
- This law violates the fundamental and constitutional rights of parents to direct the moral and educational upbringing of their children. It was written with no opt-out protection nor protections for families who have religious and moral objections to the content.
- This law forces radical sexual ideology and it’s indoctrination into the minds and hearts of our children – again, without parental recourse.
- This law encourages revisionist history and teaches children that they’re no more than the sum of their sexual desires and feelings.
Please take a moment to sign the New Jersey LGBT Curriculum Opt-Out Petition to Governor Murphy and the Legislature. We have made it simple – just follow this petition link and join us today.
Sincerely,
Shaen Hyland
Advocacy Director
Family Policy Alliance of New Jersey
Len Deo
Director of Alliances – Northeast Region, Family Policy Alliance
Fo0under and Past President, New Jersey Family Policy Council
How would you react if an employee at your favorite restaurant cursed at you because of your beliefs and forced you to leave?
This just happened to a team member who works for our Nebraska state allied group, Nebraska Family Alliance. Marilyn handled the situation in her favorite coffee and crepe shop with all grace, a true example of what it means to be salt and light in today’s culture.
But the story is much bigger than Marilyn’s experience at a local coffee shop in Lincoln, Nebraska. The real story is about what we believe America should be and the legacy we hope to leave to our children.
As Marilyn said so well in her letter, Americans “will inevitably disagree on political and policy issues.” Even deeper, Americans who carry the flag for the LGBT movement will inevitably hold different worldviews from Americans who are Bible-believing, Christ-followers—and those competing worldviews will lead to disagreements in law and culture.
Yet the America we envision is one where all are free to hold their own beliefs, without the government forcing anyone’s beliefs on someone else. We envision an America where every person is shown respect, yet free to voice their opinions.
In other words, we believe that the barista’s behavior toward Marilyn was wrong, but we also wouldn’t support a Christian barista yelling at an LGBT patron and forcing her to leave a coffeeshop. We believe that a Christian bakery owner shouldn’t be forced to create a custom-made cake for a same-sex wedding, but we also believe that an LGBT bakery owner shouldn’t be forced to create a custom-made cake for our Christian ministry’s anniversary.
We invite you to read Marilyn’s story from Lincoln, Nebraska below, and we hope you’ll agree with her that the bigger story about the kind of Nebraska—and America—she envisions is indeed possible.
Read Marilyn’s story: I Was Cursed Out of a Coffee Shop for My Views. We Can All Do Better.
~The Family Policy Alliance Team
The so-called Equality Act (H.R. 5) is moving very quickly through Congress. Despite the bill’s name, the Equality Act would dramatically elevate the rights and privileges of a select few while dealing a devastating blow to parental rights.
Speaker Pelosi has signaled that a vote on H.R. 5 will take place on or before May 17, so time is of the essence for people of faith and conscience to contact their Member of Congress and implore them to vote NO on this radical bill.
H.R. 5 is far-sweeping; it would amend several federal civil rights laws including the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 to make sexual orientation and gender identity protected classes equal to immutable and inborn characteristics like race, age, sex and national origin.
The results of this radical legislation will be widespread and disastrous. We need only look to the states or our neighbor to the north with similar laws to predict what we’re in for should the Equality Act become law.
In 16 states now, parents do not have a choice when they seek counseling for their children struggling with unwanted same-sex attraction or gender confusion. In other words, counseling that encourages children to change their gender – even to go through irreversible “genital reconstruction” operations – would be protected by the state. But counseling to help children accept their God-given birth sex would be outlawed. These therapy bans interfere with parents’ right to direct their children’s upbringing and completely disregard family faith or values. What’s worse—the bans were passed with no regard for what type of therapy may actually be best for children long-term.
In Ohio — a state without legislation of this sort — a judge already removed custody from parents of a 17-year-old for their refusal to allow her to undergo life-altering gender transition hormone treatments. This decision came after a two-year custody battle which started with family services alleging parental neglect and abuse for their religiously held beliefs about gender. When the child was placed in temporary custody of family services, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital recommended the 17-year-old undergo hormone therapy at its Transgender Health Clinic, which she did.
This hospital tells first-time patients that their healthcare providers may speak to minors without their parents because “Sometimes young people also have questions that they are afraid to ask in front of their family or guardians.” The clinic also conducts a psychosocial interview to “help understand how the patient and family or guardians are functioning and see if there are any needs.”
It’s not far-fetched to surmise that what they really mean is “see if parents support the gender transition of their young son or daughter, and if not, we’ll take you to court.”
That’s exactly what happened to a Canadian dad earlier this year. In February, the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Canada ruled that a 14-year-old girl would be administered testosterone injections by her doctor against her father’s wishes and consent. Despite a parent’s insistence that his minor daughter should wait until she was older — not a child anymore — to make this life-altering decision, the court said the child had the right to decide for herself. The judge, who ruled on the basis of federal law, blatantly dismissed parental objection to the medical treatment of his minor child.
As if the case couldn’t get any worse, it did. Just last month, the judge declared the father guilty of “family violence” due to his “expressions of rejection of [her] gender identity.” In other words, a dad refused to refer to his daughter as a boy. As a result, he was convicted of a crime against his daughter, given a gag order and ordered not to expose his daughter to any resources which may bring her gender identity or treatment into question.
These cases seem to say everyone other than parents knows best! We believe differently.
We know that parents have a God-given and Constitutionally protected right to direct the upbringing of their children—including their moral values, faith, education and healthcare. We cannot allow misguided legislation to threaten that right!
We believe families should have the right to pursue mental health counseling consistent with their beliefs and religion — be it for depression, anxiety, gender confusion or any other condition.
We believe parents must have the right to prevent their children from accessing experimental puberty-blocking hormones, cross-sex hormones (which can lead to sterilization), and certainly irreversible, life-altering “genital reconstruction” surgery.
Will you stand with us today to ensure that parents across our nation retain their ability to guide the moral upbringing and medical care of their children? If so, please contact your Member of Congress today and urge him or her to vote NO on the Equality Act.
Because parents, not Nancy Pelosi, know best how to care for their children,
Autumn Leva
Vice President of Strategy