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Missouri Family E-News

June 24, 2014

                                            
Graduation Speaker
Takes Stand for Faith  

 

Yet another high school commencement speaker has challenged the forces of political correctness to protect his constitutional rights to freedom of speech and freedom of religious expression.

 

Brooks Hamby was chosen as the salutatorian for the 2014 graduating senior class at Brawley Union High School in Brawley, California.  Hamby was required by school administrators to submit his commencement remarks to school officials for pre-approval.

 

The school district rejected three different drafts submitted by Hawley, claiming that his prayerful references to God "oppose government case law and are a violation of the Constitution."

 

The high school principal told Hamby that if he "injected religious content," the sound system would be shut off, and a disclaimer would be delivered to those in attendance.   

 

Hamby was wise enough to realize that the school district's legal position was completely erroneous, yet he says he had no desire to be a "rabble-rouser."  So he consulted with his pastor, who prayed with him.  They concluded that he should stand by his religious convictions.

 

"I didn't want to compromise my faith," Hamby said.  "I wasn't interested in removing every trace of God or Jesus.  I didn't want to water down the message.  I wanted to impart something that was meaningful and that would have some lasting positive impact."

 

During his remarks, Hamby referenced "the best-selling book of all time." He urged his classmates to "be the salt of the earth.  Be strong and stand by your convictions.  Stand for what is right, what is ethical, what is moral, what is Godly, no matter what the cost to you."

 

"Stand for what is good wherever you go and whatever you do," Hamby said in closing.  "May the God of the Bible bless each and everyone of you every day of the rest of your lives."

 

For whatever reasons, school officials did not turn off Hamby's microphone, nor did they issue a disclaimer at the time.  Hiram Sasser, a religious freedom attorney with the Liberty Institute, says it is a good thing they did not.

 

"Not only are student allowed to present a speech from a religious viewpoint, but it's a violation of the law to prevent them from doing that.  It is outrageous that a school official would demand that a salutatorian submit his speech for government review for the purpose of censoring religious speech." 

 

  
Call2Fall
To Be Held This Sunday
   

The Family Research Council is once again calling on pastors to lead their churches in prayer for the spiritual well-being of our nation.

The event is the 6th annual Call2Fall prayer initiative.  Churches across the nation are being asked to respond to the call to fall on their knees to ask God's mercies upon our country.

"America is in deep trouble,"says Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council.  "We face formidable enemies, but the greatest is our own moral and spiritual decline."

"God's answer is for us to join in humble, repentant, united prayer like that outlined in 2 Chronicles.  Let's unite to confess our national dependence on God on Sunday, June 29th, before we celebrate our independence on the 4th of July."

You can learn more about the Call2Fall by using this link:
Call2Fall

You can watch videos explaining the importance of this annual event by clicking this link:
Call2Fall Videos

  

Listen to the Broadcast Version of the Jeff City Update online at 
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Obama Issues Order
for Special Rights for Gays in Workplace  


In the latest example of unlawful conduct by our nation's Chief Executive, President Obama has announced he will be issuing an executive order dictating special rights for homosexuals, bisexuals, and "transgendered" individuals in the workplace.

Under the executive order, homosexual, bisexual, and "transgendered" lifestyles will be protected classes under federal employment discrimination law as it applies to federal contractors.  Any company that provides services to the federal government, or any business that provides services to the general public under contract with the federal government, will be covered by the executive order.

Currently, federal law prohibits discrimination in employment practices based on immutable involuntary characteristics such as gender, age, race, national origin, or disability.  It also prohibits bias against individuals based on their First Amendment exercise of the freedom of religion. 

Under the Obama executive order, the nebulous and propagandistic terms "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" would be added to the list of protected classes in anti-discrimination law.  For the first time, individuals would receive employment discrimination protection for their private, off-the-job conduct--in this instance for their personal sexual affections and behavior.

During his administration, President Obama has been pushing for passage of a deceptively named bill called the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).  That legislation would amend federal employment discrimination law to provide special workplace protections for individuals based on "sexual orientation" and "gender identity." 

ENDA has failed to win passage in Congress, so the President has decided to ignore the rule of law and unilaterally impose his own "gay rights" agenda on federal contractors.  This is the latest in a flood of arbitrary extralegal actions by the Obama Administration to implement the policy objectives of the homosexual movement in violation of federal law and federal court decisions.

The topic of federal contractors brings to mind major business enterprises such as defense industry firms and environmental corporations.  Yet now that the federal government has become the agent for a wide range of human services, numerous private non-profit corporations are contractors with the federal government.  And many of those non-profits have Christian identities and Christian mission statements.

"The big question is--will the executive order drive out faith-based organizations  from federal contracting?" asks Stanley Carlton-Thies, President of the Institutional Religious Freedom Alliance.  "The federal government doesn't just contract for aircraft carriers, janitorial service, and IT expertise.  It also contracts increasingly for social services."

Tim Wildmon, President of the American Family Association, says the executive order is a huge threat to the integrity of Christian businesses.  "Religious organizations that contract with the government to provide adoption assistance, disaster relief, health care services, preschool education, and drug rehabilitation, could be required to hire avowed homosexuals in violation of their religious mission."

Wildmon also points out that current federal employment discrimination policies require that contractors establish "affirmative action" programs to actively recruit members of protected classes.  "What's to stop the federal government from forcing Christian businesses to actively recruit [homosexuals] as the price of contracting with the federal government?"

Even the secular Heritage Foundation has warned that ENDA "tramples fundamental civil liberties," "creates special privileges for homosexuals," and treats "moral convictions as if they were bigotry." 

Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council, says that the executive order will inspire calculated and costly litigation against both secular and religious employers.  "By requiring contractors to consider personal characteristics and behavior related to 'sexual orientation' and 'gender identity,' this policy will make contractors liable for protecting sexual identities whether actual or 'perceived,' or that may not even be known."

Members of Congress have reacted to the planned ENDA executive order much like they have to the rest of the continuing stream of imperial executive orders issued by the President--by doing and saying virtually nothing.  The silence of Congressional figures has become deafening when it comes to the homosexual juggernaut coming out of the White House.

Mario Diaz, legal counsel for Concerned Women for American, bemoaned the President's repudiation of democratic values.  "Democracy once again gets in the way of the President's personal preferences.  His dictator-like actions continue to demonize people of faith who believe as he claims he did not too long ago.  He insists on punishing those who do not move along with him in his views on homosexuality and marriage."

President Obama timed his announcement of the executive order to coincide with his appearance as the headline speaker at a "gay rights" fundraiser hosted by the Democratic National Committee.

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