Remnants from week involving Chick-fil-A: definition of Christian organizations as "anti-LGBT" and LGBT advocacy of major funding recipient
There has been a wide assortment of responses to the announcement early in the week about the Chick-fil-A Foundation, the official philanthropic arm of the hugely successful restaurant chain, making a decision to realign its giving priorities. Gone from the charitable list are traditional recipients such as the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which were (and continue to be labeled) "anti-LGBT," in the media, presumably because of their Christian stand on matters of traditional marriage and sexuality.
In a Breakpoint commentary, John Stonestreet highlighted this labeling which has been detrimental to the two organizations...
...the Chick-Fil-A Foundation’s decision will only reinforce the slander that the organizations they are no longer giving to are, in fact, anti-LGBT. It will only reinforce that all the good these organizations do is immediately made invalid, if they are Christian groups with historic and biblical Christian convictions. By refusing to offer any clarity on the reasoning behind their decision, Chick-Fil-A allowed the headlines to be re-written in a way that furthers the goals of the LGBT bullies, that ultimately there is only one acceptable position on these controversial issues: full-support and full affirmation.Jim Daly of Focus on the Family was likewise concerned about the continued stigmatization of these Christian organizations, which Chick-fil-A had also experienced because of the Christian values on which the company was founded. He wrote:
Fellowship of Christian Athletes played a critical role in my coming to Christ. They continue to serve our nation’s youth in remarkable ways and are on the front lines in schools across the country. Likewise, the Salvation Army ministers in powerful ways, alleviating hunger and suffering on so many levels.Daly passionately stated:
Sadly, the left-wing mob that has harangued our friends at Chick-fil-A has perfected the art of the shakedown. They’ve come after Focus on the Family, and they’ve come after me. Recently, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees upset the left when he supported our ministry’s Bring Your Bible to School effort. Their antagonism towards Chick-fil-A is just the tip of the spear.He also warned that attempts to satisfy certain groups will "never satisfy the aggrieved antagonists." He wrote:
Case in point: immediately after Chick-fil-A made their announcement on Monday, GLAAD further chastised them and said they needed to disown all ties to faith-based groups who trade in “hate” like Focus on the Family. My simple question is this: Can anyone point to the “hate”? I cannot.Daly mentioned attempts to silence people and organizations who stood on their convictions, including cake baker Jack Phillips, florist Barronelle Stutzman, and Hobby Lobby. He stated: "I grieve for my country when three percent of its population can successfully harass billion-dollar corporations merely because they hold to two millennia-old traditional values."
Now, another piece of information has emerged about a charity that will be receiving increased funding from the Chick-fil-A Foundation, Covenant House International. Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel, in a piece at The Christian Post, wrote:
The founder of Covenant House, a Catholic priest pedophile, was sued for allegedly sexually abusing the youth who were seeking shelter and food. Covenant House proudly promotes LGBTQ on its website, referring to “LGBTQ Inclusion Initiatives,” and even doing an “inclusion assessment” at every one of its facilities.
Covenant House also proudly supports the New York City Gay Pride parade with its own float, banners, t-shirts, and hastag #CovUnity. Covenant House is recognized as a national funder of LGBTQ causes.Staver also links to a story that documents that pro-life witnesses in Michigan shared that they saw a Covenant House International van transport someone to an abortion clinic. And, as Staver points out, Covenant House is only in 31 cities, in contrast to the widespread reach of the Salvation Army.
Jim Daly concludes his piece by saying:
The LGBT community has fought for decades for a place at the table. In recent years they have received a seat and are aggressively advocating for their agenda. But in a pluralistic nation like America, that seat doesn’t give anyone the right to poke others in the eye.
Does anyone else find it odd that those who claim to have been bullied have become the bullies themselves?Court grants millions to Planned Parenthood in undercover journalists' case
For six weeks, jurors in a San Francisco courtroom have been listening to testimony in a trial against the Center for Medical Progress and its undercover investigators regarding Planned Parenthood and its trafficking in the body parts of aborted babies, according to LifeSiteNews.com, which reported that it took less than two days to award the nation's largest abortion provider over two million dollars in damages.
Defense attorney Peter Breen of the Thomas More Society stated, "This lawsuit is payback for David Daleiden exposing Planned Parenthood’s dirty business of buying and selling fetal parts and organs,” and announced his intent to appeal. The article continued to quote from the lawyer:
“David’s findings revealed practices so abhorrent that the United States Congress issued criminal referrals for Planned Parenthood, and numerous states and elected officials have moved to strip it of funding,” continued Breen. “Rather than face up to its heinous doings, Planned Parenthood chose to persecute the person who exposed it. I am fully confident that when this case has run its course, justice will prevail, and David will be vindicated.”But, the article contends the judge in the case, Federal District Judge William Orrick III, gave faulty instructions to the jury. The article quotes from Thomas Brejcha, founder of the Thomas More Society, in an update last week: “Unfortunately, we couldn’t get Judge Orrick to back off from his insistence that the jury be instructed that the First Amendment … does not state any kind of defense to the charges in this case..." The judge had already declared the investigative journalists "trespassed" in certain events and meetings, and, according to a Archdiocese of San Francisco report:
Orrick “instructed the jury to only concern themselves with the damages that the defendants are liable for that trespass, both punitive and actual,” it stated.School district mandates boys and girls share locker rooms
A school district in Illinois has changed its policy to allow boys and girls to share locker rooms. According to CBN.com, this comes as the result of a transgender student, a biological male, filing "a lawsuit for discrimination because he was not allowed access inside the girl's locker room, The Daily Herald reports." The school district voted 5-2 to change the policy.
The Daily Herald stated:
Nova Maday, a transgender 2018 graduate of Palatine High School with a discrimination lawsuit pending against the district, said she hoped the decision would influence other districts but doesn't accomplish every improvement she's sought for transgender students. One example of what's not included, she said, is easing the process of getting one's named changed on a student ID.
"It's a great first step," said Maday, who was born male but identifies as female. "It's huge, and school districts all across the state and nation are watching."Student Julia Burco was visibly upset by the board's decision, with CBN reporting that "she felt 'uncomfortable, my privacy's being invaded, as I am a swimmer.'" Already, parents in the district, District 211, are mobilizing. A parents' rights group has already begun to circulate a "privacy request form."
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