GAY TRUTH

Some have claimed that a bill recently passed by the Arizona legislature would give businesses broad license to not serve someone for being gay. This claim, though, may be a misreading, according a CP legislative analysis. While the bill is an attempt to broaden who is covered under its religious freedom protections, in all cases it actually narrows when a religious belief could be used to refuse service. Here are six important points to understand about the just-passed bill: 1. If Gov. Jan Brewer (R) signs it, the bill, S.B. 1062, would make some modifications to a 1999 Arizona law called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). 2. Under current Arizona law, if a business wanted to discriminate against gays, they would not need this bill to be passed to do so. It is not currently illegal for a business to deny service to someone because they are gay. Some cities in Arizona have ordinances against it but there is no state law against it. If business owners in Arizona wanted t

English: The Supreme Court of the United States. Washington, D.C. Français : La Cour suprême des États-Unis. Washington D.C., États-Unis. ‪Norsk (bokmål)‬: Høyesterett i USA. Washington, D.C. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Some Christians have quickly distanced themselves from these laws ( Andy Stanley , Jonathan Merritt, Kirstin Powers ), while the media has shown that, as a general rule, it lacks even a rudimentary understanding of what is at stake here. The net result is that anyone who doesn’t have a firm grasp on the Bible’s teaching about this issue is being swept up in the tide of public opinion. So swift is the tide that even the senators who voted for the law in Arizona a few weeks ago are now publically renouncing their “yes” vote and asking the governor to veto it. There are really three practical questions for Christians to wrestle through here: 1. Should Christians in any business decline to serve homosexual customers? The answer is obviously “no,” and even more tell

Plodding through the news this week has been an attempt in both Arizona and Kansas to pass laws that specifically protect business owners from being forced to sell their services to celebrate gay “marriage” ceremonies. Some Christians have quickly distanced themselves from these laws ( Andy Stanley , Jonathan Merritt, Kristin Powers ), while the media has shown that, as a general rule, it lacks even a rudimentary understanding of what is at stake here. The net result is that anyone who doesn’t have a firm grasp on the Bible’s teaching about this issue is being swept up in the tide of public opinion. So swift is the tide that even the senators who voted for the law in Arizona a few weeks ago are now publically renouncing their “yes” vote and asking the governor to veto it. There are really three practical questions for Christians to wrestle through here: 1. Should Christians in any business decline to serve homosexual customers? The answer is obviously “no,” and even more telling i

PHOENIX, AZ , February 25, 2014 – In a move that has sparked antagonism from both Republicans and Democrats, the  Arizona state legislature passed a bill Thursday  that would grant business owners the right to refuse service to clients on the basis of religious objections. SB 1062  would provide business owners the grounds to deny their services to same-sex “marriages.” The bill, which now awaits the signature of Gov. Jan Brewer , has been lambasted as discriminatory by its opponents, but its defenders say it’s a necessary protection for religious freedom. In the past few years, there have been  several cases of business owners facing lawsuits after  refusing to provide their services  to  gay couples at their “weddings.”  This bill would prevent such suits from being filed in Arizona and would protect objecting business owners from facing heavy fines. This bill has a lion’s share of opponents. Both of Arizona’s federal senators, each Republican,  have urged Gov. Brewer

State senators in Arizona voted heavily along partisan lines Wednesday in passing a bill that allows business  owners to refuse service to homosexuals based on their religious beliefs . With Republicans in the majority, the bill, SB 1062, passed with a 17-13 vote. It defeated attempts to expand existing employment laws which protect against racial and religious discrimination to include sexual orientation , according to the Arizona Daily Star . A companion bill is also expected to pass in the House shortly. Republican Sen. Steve Yarbrough explained that the decision to support the measure is more about protecting people of faith from discrimination rather that discriminating against homosexuals. "This bill is not about discrimination," said Yarbrough who is a sponsor of the bill. "It's about preventing discrimination against people who are clearly living out their faith." The Arizona Senate Democratic Caucus responded in a statement that

Two Republican Senators are coming under harsh criticism after breaking campaign promises not to vote for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).  John McCain and Jeff Flake , both of Arizona , were two of the  10 Republicans who voted for the transgender “rights” bill ENDA  when it passed the Senate by a 64-32 vote on Thursday. Arizona was the only state with two Republican senators to see both vote for the bill. Jeff Flake ENDA gives homosexuals, bisexuals, and transgender people special rights and protections against “discrimination” in the workplace – rights usually restricted for discrimination based on race, religion, or sex. But when they were seeking re-election, both McCain and Flake told state voters they opposed “adding 'sexual orientation,' ' gender identity ,' or 'gender expression' to protected classes or race, religion, age, sex, and ancestry in discrimination law." McCain and Flake made their statements in response to