The 3 - October 15, 2017

In this week's edition of The 3, exploring recent events involving the Christian community, there is a story of court action involving a high-profile atheist group, which asked for one of its leaders to make an opening statement during the customary prayer time at the beginning of the day in the U.S. House - that was turned back by a Federal judge.  Also, the U.S. Attorney General has issued a memo that says that "gender," as defined in a section of Federal law, does not apply to transgenderism.  And, a U.S. Representative was banned from running a pro-life ad on Twitter, then the ad was allowed - 2 pro-life organizations are crying foul.

3 - Attempt to modify Congressional opening prayer to allow atheist turned back by judge

At the start of the legislative day, the U.S. House of Representatives has an opening prayer, and according to The Hill website, "Guest chaplains are allowed to give the opening prayer in the House if a member sponsors them, if they are ordained and if their prayer addresses a 'higher power.'"

That framework was challenged recently by the Freedom from Religion Foundation, whose co-president, Daniel Barker, had requested the opportunity to deliver an opening statement, a "non-prayer," if you will, prior to a session of the House.

Barker...

...claimed he had met all the requirements, but the chaplain denied his request because he was “ordained in a denomination in which he no longer practices” and “is not a religious clergyman.”

So, FFRF did what FFRF does - it filed a lawsuit against "House Chaplain Father Patrick Conroy, his staff and Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) in May 2016, challenging their refusal to let him give a nonreligious invocation on the floor."

D.C. Federal Circuit Judge, Rosemary Collyer, according to the story, "dismissed Barker’s claims that he had been discriminated against." The article goes on to say:

Collyer said “Congress has exclusive authority over its rules and the manner in which it conducts its affairs" and that the House Chaplain's "refusal to invite an avowed atheist to deliver the morning ‘prayer,’ in the guise of a non-religious public exhortation as a ‘guest chaplain'" was not a violation of the establishment clause of the Constitution, as Barker had claimed.

2 - Attorney General: gender reference in Civil Rights Act not applicable to transgender people

There is a movement among some to try to redefine references to "gender" in Federal law as also including "sexual orientation and gender identity."  According to Liberty Counsel, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has modified the interpretation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which governs employment law, which had reflected that philosophy.  The Liberty Counsel website states:

The Attorney General officially withdrew a 2014 Obama-era policy protecting so-called “transgender” employees from discrimination under Title VII. The Attorney General stated that the Department of Justice will no longer interpret Title VII to mean that the law's protections extend to discrimination based on gender identity. Sessions said the change will apply to “all pending and future matters” relating to “transgender” workers, which means that it could have an immediate impact on open discrimination cases.

In a memo, Attorney General Sessions stated: "Title VII expressly prohibits discrimination ‘because of…sex’…and several other protected traits, but it does not refer to gender identity. “Sex is ordinarily defined to mean biologically male or female."

1 - Pro-life ad banned, restored by Twitter; others cry foul about ad policies

Recently, a leading contender for the U.S. Senate seat from Tennessee, to be vacated by Sen. Bob Corker, wanted to place a political ad on Twitter.  In it, according to the website for the Susan B. Anthony List, Rep. Marsha Blackburn wished to call attention to her action against Planned Parenthood and the "sale of baby body parts." Twitter refused the ad, but later reversed course.

The SBA List website points out that "Despite its reversal on Rep. Blackburn’s ad, Twitter continues to block all advertising from Live Action, as well as some advertising by SBA List."  Live Action and Susan B. Anthony List are both pro-life advocacy organizations.

SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser is quoted on the site as saying, "We are encouraged that Twitter reconsidered its censorship of Rep. Blackburn’s pro-life ad. However, the root issue is far from resolved. It took pressure and a great deal of negative publicity for Twitter to reverse this one decision. Meanwhile pro-life groups like Live Action and SBA List are still subject to an apparent double standard when they simply tell the truth, horrific as it is, about Planned Parenthood’s baby parts trafficking."  Lila Rose, President of Live Action, was also quoted, expressing similar sentiment.