Houston’s Lesbian Mayor Subpoenas Sermons That May Contain Thought Crimes Against Homosexuality
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For anyone who doesn’t get it yet that the gay rights blitzkrieg is an assault by authoritarian statists on key constitutional liberties, this story should be instructive:
The city of Houston has issued subpoenas demanding a group of pastors turn over any sermons dealing with homosexuality, gender identity or Annise Parker, the city’s first openly lesbian mayor.
Parker and her goons are defying all three clauses of the First Amendment.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Her hostility to the free exercise of religion and to freedom of speech are obvious. Here’s where the right to petition for a redress of grievances comes in:
The subpoenas are just the latest twist in an ongoing saga over Houston’s new non-discrimination ordinance. The law, among other things, would allow men to use the ladies room and vice versa. The city council approved the law in June.
The Houston Chronicle reported opponents of the ordinance launched a petition drive that generated more than 50,000 signatures – far more than the 17,269 needed to put a referendum on the ballot.
However, the city threw out the petition in August over alleged irregularities.
That saved the liberal courts from the trouble of striking it down, which invariably happens whenever the public puts up resistance to the homosexual agenda with ballot initiatives like California’s Proposition 8.
After opponents of the bathroom bill filed a lawsuit the city’s attorneys responded by issuing the subpoenas against the pastors.
The pastors were not part of the lawsuit. However, they were part of a coalition of some 400 Houston-area churches that opposed the ordinance.
Opposing the ordinance is a thought crime, so it stands to reason authorities will be able to find more thought crimes by examining sermons and even private communications. This will allow them to intimidate pastors by cherry-picking anything deemed sufficiently politically incorrect to use for public castigation.
Among those slapped with a subpoena is Steve Riggle, the senior pastor of Grace Community Church. He was ordered to produce all speeches and sermons related to Mayor Annise Parker, homosexuality and gender identity.
The mega-church pastor was also ordered to hand over “all communications with members of your congregation” regarding the non-discrimination law.
As Riggle observes,
“This is an attempt to chill pastors from speaking to the cultural issues of the day. The mayor would like to silence our voice. She’s a bully.”
It may not be immediately obvious why the liberal establishment has been investing so much energy in promoting sexual deviancy. But anyone can see why authoritarian statists hate Christianity; it has served as a bulwark against tyranny for centuries by giving people a higher authority than government thugs and their lackeys in the media.
Christianity regards homosexuality as a serious sin. By establishing homosexuals as sacred victims whose behavior must be celebrated, the liberal ruling class is laying the groundwork for the criminalization of Christianity.
On tips from Anne, Bill T, Mr. Mentalo, and Henry. Cross-posted at Moonbattery.
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