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A Christian minister has filed a federal lawsuit arguing that a local “anti-discrimination” law will effectively force her to officiate same-sex “weddings.” Kristi Stokes owns Covenant Weddings, which offers marriage services as well as homilies, vows, and prayers for unions “between one biological man and one biological woman.” Represented by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), she is suing to block an ordinance adding “sexual orientation and gender identity” to local non-discrimination rules, which she says will not only force her to unite same-sex couples but forbid her from explaining why she only believes in heterosexual unions. The ordinance penalizes violating businesses starting at $1,000 per violation, plus additional costs such as attorneys’ fees. Stokes says she has not faced such a suit yet, but realized she was in danger in December 2019, when she turned down a request to officiate a same-sex union and realized she could have been sued for doing so – despite the fact ...

The Christian baker in Colorado who won a high-profile religious liberty case earlier this year is back in court, this time going on offense against the state officials he says are continuing to persecute him for refusing to create pro-LGBT products. This summer, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that Colorado officials had discriminated against the Masterpiece Cakeshop owner’s religious beliefs while trying to force him to bake a cake for a same-sex “wedding.” But on June 26, Autumn Scardina filed a complaint against Phillips for declining to bake a cake that would be pink on the inside and blue on the outside, to celebrate his “transition” from male to female. Two days later, Colorado Civil Rights Division (CCRD) director Aubrey Elenis wrote a letter concluding there was probable cause to conclude Phillips had unlawfully denied Scardina “equal enjoyment of a place of public accommodation.” It ordered the two to enter compulsory mediation to reach an amicable resolution. Alliance De...

Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips’  June 4 victory  at the U.S. Supreme Court failed to convince the state of Colorado to let him operate in accordance with his conscience, the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)  announced  Wednesday. Earlier this summer, the nation’s highest court ruled 7-2 that Colorado officials had discriminated against his religious beliefs while trying to force him to bake a cake for a same-sex “wedding.” On June 26, the  Denver Post   reported  that Autumn Scardina filed a complaint against Phillips for declining to bake a cake that would be pink on the inside and blue on the outside, to celebrate his “transition” from male to female. Two days later, Colorado Civil Rights Division (CCRD) director Aubrey Elenis wrote a letter concluding there was probable cause to conclude Phillips had unlawfully denied Scardina “equal enjoyment of a place of public accommodation.” It ordered the two to enter compulsory mediation to ...

The United States Supreme Court announced Monday it was ordering the Washington Supreme Court to reconsider its judgment that a Christian florist must provide flowers for a same-sex “wedding” ceremony. The case stems from Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s lawsuit against Barronelle Stutzman, the proprietor of Arlene’s Flowers in Richland, Washington, for refusing to provide flowers for a customer’s same-sex "wedding" ceremony. Stutzman had previously served the customer’s every other request for years, and has employed homosexual workers, but her Christian faith compelled her to draw a distinction between serving all individuals and lending her artistic endorsement to celebrations of homosexuality. The Washington Supreme Court ruled last year that the government may force Christians to serve same-sex “weddings,” and in July 2017, the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case. On Monday, the high court vaca...

This week, I was denied a service because the company’s values are at odds with the values that Alliance Defending Freedom stands for — values I personally hold. And guess what? I’m okay with that. Allow me to explain. As a writer, I’m always looking to improve my skills. And working for a no-debt legal service like Alliance Defending Freedom, which can only take on cases and clients as the funds are provided through our generous ministry friends, fundraising is an important part of what we do. Using my work information, I signed up for an online course created by Moceanic, a team of talented fundraisers who have created a coaching and training business to help writers better connect with donors. I’ve read blog posts and books that the team has produced, and I truly admire their talents. They have a gift for connecting with people. What I didn’t know when I signed up for the course, however, is that Moceanic does a lot of work with organizations such as the ACLU , Planned Parenthoo...

Former President George H. W. Bush and his wife Barbara attended a wedding last year that made national news. According to The Washington Post , the elder Bushes attended the wedding of two lesbians, Bonnie Clement and Helen Thorgalsen, held at Kennebunkport, Maine . No one should be surprised by the opening line of the Post report: “Another prominent Republican has come out in support of same-sex marriage—or, at least, in support of one particular same-sex marriage.” Similarly, the “ Daily Intelligencer ” column at New York Magazine declared that George and Barbara Bush are apparently in favor of same-sex marriage “since they not only attended a lesbian couple’s wedding on Saturday, but served as witnesses as well.” The news coverage of the Bushes’ attendance at the same-sex wedding points to a reality that must be understood—and fast. Attendance at a wedding is not a neutral act. The history and context of the wedding ceremony identify all those present as agreeing to the ri...

Value your religious freedom ? Check this out… The Speaker of the British House of Commons says “proper equal marriage” won’t happen until the churches are compelled to obey by law. Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said his party was working towards compelling priests to perform same-sex weddings . Denmark has already done this. Concerns about how redefining marriage will affect your religious freedom extend far beyond whether an individual minister of religion or celebrant is required to solemnise a same-sex wedding. It will impact what faith leaders will be able to preach, what schools and parents will be able to teach children, and how Australians will be able to conduct their businesses in accordance with their beliefs. Related articles Farmer banned at city market over gay marriage stance has day in court (mlive.com) These Christians have banded together to fight for equal marriage (pinknews.co.uk)

On behalf of those Muslim and Christian communities whom we represent, we declare that we believe that there should be no change to the traditional definition of marriage as spelled by the 2004 Amendment incorporated into the Marriage Act 1961 . The amendment reads: “Marriage means the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others voluntarily entered into for life.” We are very concerned about the rush to introduce new legislation allowing for Same-Sex Marriage (“ SSM ”), which is wrong both in policy and in principle . It is wrong in policy because far-reaching changes should not be implemented in haste. Parliamentarians of Australia have a duty to lead the debate over SSM rather than opportunistically seeking to garner votes by jumping onto what seems to be an irresistible bandwagon. They should be encouraging people to reflect upon what marriage is all about, its parameters, its relationship to child-rearing and how children shall be raised outside of the institut...

Traditional beliefs ignored in marriage equality debate Opposing change on the basis of deeply held beliefs isn’t bigotry. In recent years there has been a remarkable shift in sentiment across the Western world about same-sex marriage. It may well be that in the next Federal Parliament , if not in this, there will be a majority of MPs who support change. The change in thinking is particularly apparent in the Labor Party . Less than four years ago, party policy was to oppose same-sex marriage. A little more than 10 years ago it voted with the Coalition to include in the Marriage Act a definition of marriage as between a man and a woman. Now, by 2019, MPs who hold that view will no longer be able to have a conscience vote on the matter. The implicit message, regrettably, is that people of devout faith who hold traditional views about marriage are no longer welcome in the party – a position that will be electorally dangerous for Labor in the long term. These are the "true be...

Some Coalition MPs are warning that the redefinition of marriage will leave churches, schools, charities and individuals that defend traditional marriage exposed to legal challenges in the future. West Australian Liberal MP Andrew Hastie said yesterday that religious protections in Dean Smith's SSM bill were insufficient. “The Smith bill only offered protections to individuals involved in the conduct of weddings. It failed to grasp the far-reaching significance of redefining marriage," he said. Mr Hastie suggested discrimin­ation laws across the country were skewed against those who continued to defend traditional marriage — individuals could be left legally exposed for simply speaking their minds while non-government schools could be forced to change their teachings if same-sex marriage was passed. “What about Australians who hold to the view of marriage as a union between a man and a woman based on empirical evidence, biology and historical precedence? This is how I’...

In a remarkable case of agenda politics eclipsing science, America ’s largest LGBT group has threatened harm to Johns Hopkins University if it doesn’t censor the scientific findings of leading scholars on the origins of homosexuality and transgenderism. In a recent major study titled “Sexuality and Gender: Findings from the Biological, Psychological, and Social Sciences,” researchers from Johns Hopkins found that there is virtually no scientific evidence that people are born gay or transgender. In response, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the most powerful lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer advocacy group in the country, labelled the report an “attack on LGBT communities ” and threatened to penalize Johns Hopkins University if it does not distance itself from the study. HRC Foundation’s Healthcare Equality Index has begun rating hospitals with a numerical score this year and will evaluate whether hospitals’ practices reflect “responsible citizenship” (read: LGBT-fr...

Grandmother Barronelle Stutzman , the Washington State florist found guilty of violating the state’s antidiscrimination law by refusing to provide flowers for a homosexual couple’s wedding, is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court . Stutzman, the owner of Arlene’s Flowers in Richland, filed her petition with the high court Friday. She is represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom. The Washington State Supreme Court in February unanimously upheld the Benton County Superior Court’s ruling that this grandmother violated state law by refusing to bullied into providing floral arrangements for the immoral wedding of openly gay and aggressive Ingersoll and Freed in 2013. The government then threatened her business and chose to bully her as an example and fined her $1,000.  Grandmother Stutzman has said her refusal was based on her Christian beliefs about marriage, not antigay animus, and that the state court rulings violate her freedom of speech and religion. “Rob Ingersoll and ...

The Kentucky Court of Appeals on Friday upheld a previous court victory for a Christian who in 2012 declined to make a t-shirt for the Lexington homosexual “Pride Festival,” saying to do so would violate his faith. Blaine Adamson's Lexington-based company, Hands On Originals Christian Outfitters, offers "high quality, customized Christian apparel," according to its  website . “The right of free speech does not guarantee to any person the right to use someone else’s property,” wrote Appeals Court Chief  Judge Joy Kramer .  “The ‘conduct’ Hands On Originals chose not to promote was pure speech. … Nothing in the fairness ordinance prohibits Hands On Originals, a private business, from engaging in viewpoint or message censorship.” In 2014, Adamson was found to be in violation of Lexington’s pro- LGBT “non-discrimination” ordinance by the city’s Human Rights Commission after politely turning down the “Lexington Pride Festival” design requested by the Gay and ...