澳彩开奖

News Roundup

听Oct. 7 that Romania鈥檚 anti-LGBT marriage vote was voided because of low voter turnout. Just 20 percent of registered voters cast ballots in a referendum that would have altered the constitution to define marriage as only between a man and a woman. The constitution currently defines marriage as between two 鈥渟pouses.鈥�

澳彩开奖 reported Sept. 27听on the U.S.-based groups working heavily in support of the change to the Romanian constitution, including Alliance Defending Freedom* (ADF), Liberty Counsel*, World Congress of Families* (WCF) and the European Center for Law and Justice (ECLJ), the European offshoot of the American Center for Law and Justice. ADF, Liberty Counsel and ECLJ all submitted briefs at the Constitutional Court of Romania in support of the referendum, while WCF submitted a petition in support.

Same-sex marriage is already banned in Romanian civil code, and same-sex couples have no rights in the country as civil partnership is also illegal. Still, a coalition of anti-LGBT groups and the powerful Orthodox Church supported the referendum, which, had it passed, would have put yet another steep obstacle in the way of legal marriage equality. The Orthodox Church, 听believes that homosexuality is sinful and 鈥渦nnatural.鈥�

Three coordinated anti-LGBT lawsuits were filed in Texas in early October. The 听that the Houston-based U.S. Pastor Council听听in federal court, hoping to overturn the city鈥檚 nondiscrimination ordinance that offers employment protection based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The U.S. Pastor Council filed , also in Texas, in conjunction with Christian-owned businesses, including one owned by longtime anti-LGBT activist and Republican funder Steven Hotze (named in the lawsuit), who heads up Republicans for Conservative Values. That lawsuit is against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming that the EEOC makes no accommodations or exemptions for churches or corporations that 鈥渙ppose homosexual or transgender behavior鈥� on religious grounds.

听鈥� this one also against the city of Austin 鈥斕齱as 听Oct. 8. The lawsuit claims that Austin鈥檚 nondiscrimination ordinance violates the state鈥檚 Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Texas Constitution, 鈥渂ecause they fail to sufficiently protect the conscientious beliefs of those who hold sincere religious objections to homosexual and transgender behavior.鈥�

听reported that Texas Values is demanding exemptions for landlords who refuse to rent to tenants 鈥渆ngaged in non-marital sex of any sort,鈥� particularly same-sex relations. The group further argues that individuals 鈥� particularly small business owners 鈥� have a right to refuse to support or participate in same-sex marriages, and that they can demand that trans people use bathrooms in accordance with their assigned sex at birth.

The U.S. Pastor Council听听that preventing business owners, church leaders and individuals from discriminating against LGBT people in employment decisions forces them to condone actions contrary to their shared belief that homosexuality is immoral.

The New York Times 听that the Trump administration may be attempting to define 鈥渢ransgender鈥� out of existence by narrowly defining gender as a biological, immutable condition determined by genitalia at birth 鈥� the most drastic move yet, the Times notes, 鈥渋n a governmentwide effort to roll back recognition and protections of transgender people under civil rights law.鈥�

The Times obtained a memo circulated by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that suggested the agency is spearheading an effort to establish a legal definition of sex under Title IX, the federal civil rights law that bans gender discrimination in education programs that receive government funding.

The memo argued that key government agencies need to adopt an explicit and uniform definition of gender as determined 鈥渙n a biological basis that is clear, grounded in science, objective and administrable.鈥� The HHS鈥檚 proposed definition would define sex as either male or female, unchangeable, and determined by genitalia with which a person is born. Any dispute about one鈥檚 sex would have to be clarified using genetic testing.

The Times further notes that this decision would 鈥渆ssentially eradicate federal recognition of the estimated 1.4 million Americans who have opted to recognize themselves 鈥� surgically or otherwise 鈥� as a gender other than the one they were born into.鈥�

For the last year, HHS has privately argued that the term 鈥渟ex鈥� was never supposed to include gender identity or homosexuality and that lack of clarity allowed the Obama administration to, as the Times puts it, 鈥渨rongfully extend civil rights protections to people who should not have them.鈥�

Roger Severino, the director of the Office for Civil Rights at HHS who is reputedly overseeing this directive, has a long history of anti-LGBT sentiment. He has argued vigorously against legalizing same-sex marriage and against accommodations for trans people in school locker rooms or public bathrooms, according to a . While at the right-wing Heritage Foundation, Severino argued in a paper co-written with fellow anti-LGBT activist Ryan Anderson that 鈥済ender identity and sexual orientation 鈥� are changeable, self-reported, and entirely self-defined characteristics鈥� that do not deserve the protected-class status of sex, race, and several other categories that fall under federal civil rights statutes.

The Guardian 听that the Trump administration is seeking to remove the word 鈥済ender鈥� from United Nations human rights documents. The article reports听U.S. officials at the U.N. are seeking to eliminate the word, replacing it most often with the word 鈥渨oman,鈥� apparently as part of the administration鈥檚 campaign to define transgender people out of听existence, The Guardian said.

At recent meetings of the U.N.鈥檚 Third Committee, which is concerned with 鈥渟ocial, humanitarian and cultural鈥� rights, U.S. officials have been pushing to rewrite general assembly policy statements to remove what the administration claims is 鈥渧ague and politically correct language,鈥� reflecting what it sees as an 鈥渋deology鈥� of treating gender as an individual choice rather than an unchangeable biological fact.

The Guardian noted as an example a draft paper on trafficking in women and girls that was introduced earlier in October by Germany and the Philippines that the U.S. wants to remove phrases like 鈥済ender-based violence鈥� and replace them with 鈥渧iolence against women.鈥� The U.S. officials involved in these changes are, The Guardian said, understood to have been sent from Washington and are not full-time diplomats with the U.S. mission.

A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said, 鈥淚n no way is the United States attempting to exclude the protection of transgendered [sic] persons, or protection of any person, in any U.N. resolution.鈥� The spokesperson went on to claim that when certain parts of resolutions explicitly refer to issues affecting 鈥渨omen and girls,鈥� 鈥渙ur negotiators have suggested in several instances to change 鈥榞ender鈥� to 鈥榳omen鈥� and/or 鈥榳omen and girls鈥� to make the resolutions clearer, more specific, more accurate, and in our view, stronger in the Administration鈥檚 efforts to empower women and girls.鈥�

Rolling Stone 听that the U.S. State Department 鈥渁bruptly鈥� changed language on its website and quietly removed a page called 鈥淕ender Designation Change,鈥� which had been up since 2010. The page was replaced with a new page called 鈥淐hange of Sex Marker.鈥�

According to the article, the requirements for changing sex/gender markers on U.S. passports are the same, but the language was changed throughout the page from 鈥済ender鈥� to 鈥渟ex,鈥� and new FAQs were added, including one stating that non-binary gender identity may not be designated on a U.S. passport. The addition reads, 鈥淭he sex marker may not match the gender in which you identify.鈥�

The State Department sent a statement to Rolling Stone that said, 鈥淲e want to state unequivocally that there has been no change in policy or in the way we adjudicate passports for transgender applicants. 鈥� With regard to the web update, we added language to make our use of terms consistent and accurate and to eliminate any confusion customers may have related to passport application process.鈥�

Sam Ames, executive director of Trans Lifeline,听told Rolling Stone,听鈥淎s an attorney I will tell you that a lot of people at the State Department are also attorneys and they know the significance of small changes in language. We can argue over the intent as much as we want but at the end of the day this is endangering people鈥檚 lives.鈥�

Bloomberg Law 听that the Department of Justice (DOJ) told the Supreme Court that businesses can discriminate against workers based on their gender identity without violating federal law. The DOJ鈥檚 Solicitor General, Noel Francisco, told the court that a civil rights law that bans sex discrimination on the job does not cover bias against transgender people.

The brief was filed as SCOTUS is determining whether to take up the 听at a Michigan funeral home after she told the owner she was transitioning to female. In the case, the Sixth Circuit became the first federal appeals court in the country to conclude that bias against trans people is sex discrimination under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The case is being appealed to the Supreme Court; Alliance Defending Freedom* is representing the funeral home.

This is not the first time DOJ has supported anti-LGBT lawsuits at the Supreme Court. The 听who refused to make a cake for a gay couple鈥檚 wedding reception in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case, which received a .

The AP 听Oct. 27听that Attorney General Jeff Sessions was scheduled to speak at an event in Boston sponsored by a local chapter of the Federalist Society. The event, which occurred at the Omni Parker House in downtown Boston, was billed as 鈥淭he Future of Religious Liberty.鈥�

Others scheduled for the event were U.S. attorney Andrew Lelling of the District of Massachusetts and ADF* senior counsel Jordan Lorence.

The speech occurred Oct. 29, and 听at the DOJ website.

Headline roundup:

: 鈥淭he 鈥楩ather of Conversion Therapy鈥� Tried to Change my Sexual Orientation鈥�

: 鈥淎nti-gay lawyer confirmed as head of Justice Department鈥檚 Civil Rights Division鈥�

: 鈥淭rump鈥檚 Alliance with Evangelicals is at the Heart of the White House鈥檚 Anti-Transgender Push鈥�

: 鈥淭he Health Department鈥檚 Christian Crusade鈥�

: 鈥淎n Oregon Bakery Fined for Turning Away a Lesbian Couple is Appealing to the Supreme Court鈥�

From the Groups

Family Research Council* (FRC)听announced in an Oct.听10 email that it had released 鈥渘ew policy publications,鈥� including one claiming that 鈥淧lanned Parenthood is Not Pro-Woman鈥� and another called 鈥淎re Sexual Orientation Change Efforts (SOCE) Effective? Are They Harmful? What the Evidence Shows.鈥�

The email provides a link to the FRC website to a post of the same name, written by Peter Sprigg, senior fellow for policy studies. Sprigg does many of FRC鈥檚 anti-LGBT position papers.

In this latest attempt to validate ex-gay or conversion therapy听(FRC uses 鈥淪OCE鈥� 鈥� Sexual Orientation Change Efforts) as something legitimate, Sprigg promotes six studies that allegedly 鈥減rove鈥� ex-gay therapy works and doesn鈥檛 harm people. Five of them include authors who are ex-gay promoters and practitioners, while another 鈥� a staple in the anti-LGBT right 鈥� is by a psychiatrist who 听and apologized to the LGBT community before his 2015 death. The psychiatrist, Dr. Robert Spitzer,听听and efforts to do so may be disappointing and dangerous.

Sprigg dismisses Spitzer鈥檚 apology (putting the term apology in scare quotes) and claims his study听鈥渃ontinues to provide evidence鈥� that some people can change their orientation. Sprigg also refers to the late Spitzer in the present tense.

In other FRC news, president Tony Perkins was in the United Arab Emirates, according to an Oct. 30 news release on the FRC website. This week, according to the news release, Perkins was a member of a delegation of U.S. evangelical leaders that went to Abu Dhabi for meetings with the UAE鈥檚 leadership, including Abu Dhabi鈥檚 Crown Prince, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan; the UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; the Minister of State for Tolerance; and officials from the Sawab Center, a joint initiative between the UAE and U.S. governments in support of the Global Coalition against ISIS.

According to the Jerusalem Post the meeting was the first of its kind for the Crown Prince, who is also the deputy supreme commander of the UAE鈥檚 armed forces. The Post noted that Bin Zayed鈥檚 interest in meeting the leader of the delegation 鈥� Joel Rosenberg 鈥� is 鈥渁 trend among Arab leaders who are seeking for ways to grow close to U.S. President Donald Trump and believe the key might be through Evangelical Christians.鈥�

Rosenberg is a novelist, evangelical activist and commenter on the Middle East based in Israel. He 听Perkins was with in November 2017 when they met with Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who has been criticized as a dictator responsible for harsh听political repression in the country.

The National 听that Rosenberg described the meeting as the first-ever mission of Christian evangelicals to the UAE. The meeting with the Crown Prince was originally scheduled for 30 minutes, but lasted two hours. Rosenberg also presented the Crown Prince with a copy of his latest novel, 鈥渋n which Iran acquires nuclear weapons and the US, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Israeli intelligence services unite against the threat.鈥�

Perkins stated in the FRC release, 鈥淭he UAE is aggressively working to combat extremism in the Middle East and beyond.鈥�

They have an appreciation for religious freedom that is rare in this region. Under the Crown Prince鈥檚 leadership, the UAE is a more tolerant nation, where Christians are allowed to worship freely. 鈥�And we must not forget that as Christians here in America we must not only pray for and act on behalf of our brothers and sister [sic] in Christ who are being persecuted for their faith, we must exercise and defend our religious freedom at home as well.

FRC president Tony Perkins听also hosts a weekday radio show, 鈥淲ashington Watch.鈥� Guests from Oct. 1- 29 included:

• Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.)
• Pete Yachmetz (FBI, ret.)
• Scott Rasmussen (Ballotpedia editor-at-large)
• Joseph diGenova (former U.S. attorney)
• Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.)
• Carter Conlon (senior pastor, Times Square Church, New York City)
• Rep. Steve Russell (R-Okla.)
• Carrie Severino (chief counsel and policy director, Judicial Crisis Network)
• Gordon Robertson (CEO, Christian Broadcasting Network)
• David Fowler (president, Family Action Council of Tennessee)
• Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.)
• Daniel Oliver (chair, Board of Education and Research Institute)
• Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.)
• Gordon Chang (author)
• Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas)
• Louisiana state solicitor general Liz Murrill
• Michele Bachmann (former congresswoman, Minn.)
• Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)
• Rich Penkoski (Warriors for Christ)
• Joe Champion (pastor, Celebration Church, Austin, Texas)
• Lea Patterson (attorney, First Liberty Institute)
• Kelly Shackelford (president and CEO, First Liberty Institute)
• Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.)
• Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
• Patrice Lee Onwuka (senior policy analyst, Independent Women鈥檚 Forum)
• Gary LeBlanc (founder and president, Mercy Chefs)
• Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.)
• Tim Haas (manager, U.S. Disaster Response, Samaritan鈥檚 Purse)
• Rep. Tep Poe (R-Texas)
• Michael Knowles (columnist, Daily Wire)
• Steve Southerland (former congressman, Fla.)
• Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas)
• James O鈥橩eefe (president, Project Veritas)
• Ann McElhinney (producer, 鈥淕osnell: The Trial of America鈥檚 Biggest Serial Killer鈥�)
• Chris Wilson (CEO, WPA Intelligence)
• George Barna (president, Metaformation)
• Frank Gaffney (president, Center for Security Policy *)
• House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.A)
• Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)
• Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio)
• Mark Stermer (pastor, The Church International, Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
• Pastor Andrew Brunson
• Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.)
• Ned Ryun (founder and CEO, American Majority)
• Alex McFarland (writer, speaker)
• Eben Fowler (director of operations, Bott Radio Network)
• Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kan.)
• John Graves (president, Vision America)
• Gregg Jarrett (Fox News analyst)
• Rachel Alexander (senior editor, The Stream)
• Richard Mast (attorney, Liberty Counsel听*)

MassResistance* (MR) reported Oct. 13 that its Texas chapter was partnering with anti-LGBT group Concerned Christian Citizens for their second annual conference in Killeen, called 鈥淚f Not Now, Then When?鈥�

According to the MR main blog, 鈥淭his is not your average soft-pedaling pro-family conference.鈥� The speakers 鈥渨ill address how the LGBTQ agenda is targeting all areas of society 鈥� and what the family and church must do about it.鈥� The MR site states the conference will:

answer the burning questions so many parents and citizens have: Will the LBGTQ [sic] agenda to normalize perversion and indoctrinate our children succeed? Will Christians move from the sidelines to the frontlines to fight this?鈥�

A flyer for the MassResistance and Concerned Christian Citizens Conference

Speakers at the event included MR-TX鈥檚 director, longtime anti-LGBT activist Robert Oscar L贸pez; Rusty Thomas of Waco, Texas, hardline anti-choice group Operation Save America; ex-gay therapist David Pickup and Texas-based Steven Hotze, virulently anti-LGBT president of Conservative Republicans of Texas*.

Concerned Christian Citizens is active in Temple, Texas, and first came to attention in 2017 when group leader Joe Goodson started leading a campaign against the local library鈥檚 materials commemorating LGBT Pride month in June. 听the library was advocating a harmful lifestyle to children.

Events

Freedom March will be gathering Nov. 4 in Pershing Square in Los Angeles from 1-5 p.m. Freedom March bills itself on its website as 鈥淎 diverse group of former homosexuals and transgenders [sic] sharing our testimonies and celebrating our freedom.鈥� On the 鈥淥ur Vision鈥� page, the group clarifies that is a 鈥渄iverse group of Christians who have been delivered from LGBTQ lifestyles鈥� who 鈥渟eek to bring hope of deliverance to the LGBTQ community and point them to Christ!鈥�

The group uses rainbow colors 鈥� generally associated with LGBTQ people and LGBTQ Pride 鈥� on its logo for both the Freedom March and its Facebook avatar.

The Freedom March L.A. logo

The event is 听by founder and CEO of Freedom March , who claims to be both formerly gay and a former trans woman.

This is the second event by Freedom March; ., and featured twelve 鈥渇ormer LGBT men and women鈥� as speakers. Around twenty are slated to speak in November, .

McCall explained to The Christian Post that despite constant talk about the perils of conversion therapy, the Freedom March centers on how the Holy Spirit has transformed the lives of 鈥渃ountless people and their journeys of newness of life in Christ.鈥�