The 3 - June 7, 2015

This week's edition of The 3, my week-in-review feature, includes news out of North Carolina, where a new pro-life bill expanding a waiting period has been signed into law.  Also, a reality television family known for its Christian values is telling their side of the story involving the admission that their oldest son molested several of his sisters.  And, the top story involves the prospect of new regulations that would force non-profit organizations that receive Federal funds to hire homosexuals and transsexuals.

3 - NC Governor signs abortion waiting period into law

There is more news of out the state of North Carolina this week.  Last week, I reported that Republican Governor Pat McCrory had vetoed a bill that would have protected magistrates in the state from being forced to perform same-sex marriage.  This week, the governor weighed in on the side of pro-life legislation, signing a bill increasing the abortion waiting period in the state from 24 to 72 hours, according to a piece on the WORLD Magazine website.

The article points out that based on experience in the three states that already have 72-hour waiting periods—Missouri, Utah, and South Dakota—there is a likelihood that the legislation would contribute to saving the lives of unborn babies.

Debi Nelson is the director of Arches New Hope Pregnancy Center in Moab, UT, and was quoted in the article.  She has counseled women since 2004, and said many women are still in shock when they visit a pregnancy center and want to take action as soon as possible—but when they receive information and have time to think, they usually find an alternative solution.  According to WORLD, she wants to make sure they are not making hasty decisions, so she educates clients on all their options.

WORLD reports that since 2010, North Carolina abortions have declined by 26 percent, and that proponents of the 72-hour waiting period bill expect the law to continue that trend. Paula McSwain, executive director of the Lincoln County (N.C.) Crisis Pregnancy Center, is quoted as saying: “For somebody that’s on the line, it gives them time to make an informed decision and not just an emotional decision or a quick-fix decision,” adding, “An abortion is not an emergency procedure, so I don’t think there is a big rush to get this done in 24 hours."

2 - Duggars respond to critics in light of son's molestation admission

After the revelations of Josh Duggar's admission of molestation of young girls when he was 14 years old, the Duggar family had made a statement on their Facebook page.  But, that was really the only media that the family used in order to communicate their view of the situation.  That is, until this week, when father and mother Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, as well as sisters Jessa Seewald and Jill Dillard, were interviewed by Megyn Kelly of Fox News.

The Fox News website reported on the interview with the two Duggar sisters, who were victims of inappropriate contact, along with reportedly two of their sisters and a babysitter. Seewald is quoted as saying, “…I can speak out and I can say this and set the record straight here. Like in Josh’s case, he was a boy, a young boy in puberty and a little too curious about girls. And that got him into some trouble. And he made some bad choices, but really the extent of it was mild, inappropriate touching, on fully clothed victims, most of it while girls were sleeping.”

They said they were unaware of what their brother had done to them until he confessed to their parents, prompting their parents to speak to them about their brother’s behavior.  Dillard said, "It wasn’t like we were keeping a secret afraid or something. We didn’t know until Josh explained to my parents what his thought process was, what everything was…”

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar took steps of prevention, and here is some material from the Fox News story about what was related to Kelly in the segment aired Wednesday night:

Jim Bob recalled taking Josh with him to work and punishing him at home. He said they were "keeping an eye on Josh ... all the time and watching his behaviors, watching his attitudes."

But after two more incidents, “we felt we had to get help,” Jim Bob said. Josh was sent to a man in Little Rock for counseling – an experience his father described as “the turning point of his life.”

“As parents we were trying to do the best thing we knew how,” Michelle said. Jim Bob agreed, "Looking back, we did the best we could under the circumstances."

Following his return from Little Rock, his parents took Josh to a local Arkansas State police facility where he described his actions. “We felt it was an important step for Josh to confess to the police,” Jim Bob said.

The Duggar sisters told Megyn Kelly that they believe they are being victimized.  This is also from the Fox News website:

“We’re victims. They can’t do this to us,” a teary-eyed Dillard says of the media attention that has surrounded their story.

Seewald adds, “The system that was set up to protect kids, both those who make stupid mistakes or have problems like this in their life and the ones that are affected by those choices. It’s greatly failed.”

Kelly asked Jim Bob and Michelle if they thought the backlash against them was greater because of their Christian beliefs.  Jim Bob is quoted as saying, "I think, you know what, Christianity is not about being perfect or about being a perfect family, but it’s actually about being forgiven….People on the outside think, ‘well Christians are supposed to be perfect…’ No, you know what, all of us as Christians we struggle every day.”

The Fox News site stated that Seewald said the Duggars are being judged, especially since they are known for their strong Christian beliefs, but they are a family “with challenges and struggles just like anybody else.”

“It’s right to say ‘here’s what I believe, here’s my values,’ even if you’ve made stupid mistakes or failures,” Seewald said. “If you’ve had failures in your past it doesn’t mean you can’t be changed. I think that’s where, I think the real issue is people are making this sound like it happened yesterday.”

1 - Report: religious non-profit organizations who receive Federal funds may have to hire homosexuals, transgender individuals

Reports have emerged over the past week that the Obama Administration will soon require faith-based, charitable groups which receive federal grants to hire homosexuals and transsexuals.

According to a report on the Charisma News website, that information comes from published reports from the Center for Family and Human Rights.

Here is some background from that article:

Last summer, Obama inked an executive order requiring federal contractors to provide what Congress refused to pass, namely civil rights status for sexual behavior or subjective gender identity.

Now Obama is reportedly adding the "sexual orientation and gender identity" mandate to humanitarian groups that receive federal grants as well. 

Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel, says that this is the bottom line, according to the piece:  "Not only will Christian youth programs be required to hire homosexuals, the facilities will be required to open housing, locker rooms and restrooms to people of the opposite sex who subjectively say they are the opposite of their obvious biological sex."

Staver charges the President with using funding to force his immoral agenda on religious organizations, just as he has done with the use of state department funding for foreign nations.

This also coincides with speculation about what effect a U.S. Supreme Court ruling purporting to legalize "same-sex" marriage would have on religious organizations, including ministries and schools, who may be faced with being forced to comply with new regulations consistent with that new definition.