State senator’s family receives death threats after promoting religious freedom from gay ‘marriage’
OKLAHOMA, OK, March 9, 2015 (LifeSiteNews.com) – He introduced a bill that said homosexual activists needed to live and let live. Their reaction – threatening to kill his children – proves his point, he says.
Homosexual activists have sent bullying and intimidating messages – including threats of violence – to Oklahoma State Sen. Joseph Silk, R-Broken Bow, after he sponsored a bill that would have said business owners were free to follow their religious convictions.
The bill became necessary following a string of cases in states such as Washington and New Mexico, in which Christian proprietors have been sued for refusing to take part in gay “weddings.”
After seeing the potentially devastating consequences awaiting those who refused to affirm the homosexual lifestyle, he decided, “We need to get legislation on the books before that becomes an issue” in his own state. Sen. Silk spoke with Bryan Fischer of the AFR Talk Radio Network this afternoon.
Although his bill never got a hearing before a state legislative committee, the New York Times featured Sen. Silk in an article about religious freedom – and a partial quotation went viral throughout the LGBT blogosphere.
Homosexuals “don’t have a right to be served in every single store,” he said. But he told Fischer the Times abridged his remarks to make him look bad. He continued, “I don't believe I have the right to be served in every store.”
Owners, he said, have the right to deny services to disruptive people, individuals who violate their shop's standards, and most certainly those whose service would require them to violate their conscience.
Homosexual extremists, he said, promptly disagreed. “They want their behavior condoned, and they want their behavior accepted,” he said.
“Over the past three days, I have received literally hundreds of e-mails and death threats and phone calls,” Sen. Silk told Fischer. “It has been absolutely crazy.”
That includes “death threats to my children now, saying that they need to go to Hell.”
“And what's frustrating is the church has relatively remained silent,” he said. “There is a tremendous amount of spiritual warfare going on with this particular case.”
He warned that what begins in business will soon spread through all of society. “The LGBT movement is the main thing, the primary thing that’s going to be challenging religious liberties and the freedom to live out religious convictions,” he told theTimes.
Today, he doubled down on that assertion. “The LGBT activists do not want people to have freedom. They do not want people to be able to exercise their religious convictions.”
“This is about freedom. This is about religious liberty,” Sen. Silk said. “Very soon the church won't have the right, according to the government, to preach that homosexuality is wrong. That's where this road is going. That's why this is so important.”
He said if his bill remains effectively dead for for the rest of this legislative session, he will “absolutely” introduce similar legislation next year.
Contact:
Senator Joseph Silk
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Room 536
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
405.521.5614
silk@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Sherry Mitchell
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Room 536
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
405.521.5614
silk@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Sherry Mitchell
