The 3 - March 27, 2022

This week's edition of The 3 includes hearings that occurred in Washington this week on a nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court and provides information on a high court decision concerning a death row inmate's interaction with clergy in the final hours.  Plus, numerous states have been considering bills to ban male athletes from participating in women's sports, and there are several developments.

SCOTUS nominee avoids questions on gender, science, and child porn sentences

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings this week to hear from U.S. Supreme Court nominee Katanji Brown Jackson. Her opponents have expressed their concern for her judicial activism but her statements on gender and life have caused concern, in addition to her record on sentencing those guilty of child pornography.

Denny Burk, the President of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, wrote in his blog concerning Judge Jackson's response to Sen. Marsha Blackburn's request for the prospective justice to provide the definition of a "woman."

Here we have a Supreme Court nominee who either can’t or won’t offer a definition of what a woman is. Why? Because she claims that she’s not a biologist. Really?

Burk states, "Have we really come to the point that a sitting judge and nominee for the highest court in the land cannot define what a woman is? Think how fast transgender propaganda has taken root in our culture that this very basic question would produce a blank stare and an 'I don’t know' from a sitting judge."

He also writes:

The One who creates has the right to command. He also has the right to name and define. Indeed He has written His design into every cell of our bodies. Our actual identity as male or female is not self-constructed, self-defined, or self-directed. Our identity as male and female is God-constructed, God-defined, and God-directed. Maleness or femaleness aren’t assigned at birth. Rather, they are revealed in God’s special, distinct design of male and female bodies.

Attorney Jenna Ellis, writing at Newsmax, states that Jackson...

...is far form ignorant, and she likely knows defining "what is a woman" destroys the crux of the left’s gender theory as a social construct, which has implications for litigation that will likely end up at the high court.

This isn’t just a policy or biology question.

This is key to uncovering Jackson’s judicial philosophy. Sex is a protected class under the Civil Rights Act. Title VII and IX are all about women. Legislation protecting women’s sports is being signed into law or contemplated in states across the country.

How can Judge Jackson provide a competent opinion on these issues if she "can’t" provide a definition to the word 'woman'?

Ellis adds, "How can the American people know whether or not Jackson will be faithful to the Constitution, which protects our fundamental rights, when she won’t answer questions?"

Lila Rose of Live Action wrote on Twitter regarding Jackson's record on Child Sexual Abuse Material: "Tragically, in every case in which Judge Jackson had discretion, she gave CSAM criminals sentences below the guidelines & below what the prosecutors sought. During her hearings, Judge Jackson has indicated she thinks penalties for these crimes should be lighter. I disagree."  She added, "The greatest responsibility of adults is to protect those more vulnerable. Children are the most vulnerable members of society. It is profoundly unjust when we permit the law to be lenient with their rapists––in part because children have no way to advocate for themselves."  In conclusion, Rose wrote: "I strongly oppose Judge Ketanji Brown for her pro-abortion advocacy, but her leniency on child sex abusers is another reason for all of us to passionately oppose her confirmation to the highest court of justice in the land."

Lila Rose was one of almost 40 pro-life leaders who signed a letter to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee expressing concern over her pro-abortion record.

High court affirms right for death row inmate to have clergy interaction

While Senators questioned Ketanji Brown Jackson this week in hearings, the current high court issued a decision in the case of a Texas death row inmate who had requested that a member of the clergy lay hands on him and pray during his final hours.

The SCOTUS Blog website reported: 

The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that a man on death row in Texas can have his pastor touch him and pray out loud while he is being executed. The decision in Ramirez v. Collier was the latest chapter in the nearly three-year-long dispute over the presence of spiritual advisers at executions, and the justices appeared to express some frustration that the case was before them at all. The ruling, which urged states to adopt clear rules for the future and instructed courts to allow executions to go forward with religious accommodations when necessary, brought together justices from both ends of the ideological spectrum, with only Justice Clarence Thomas dissenting.

Alliance Defending Freedom, which had filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of the prisoner, John Ramirez, included a quote on its website from Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy John Bursch:

“Mr. Ramirez has come to hold sincere religious beliefs, and his appeal to God in his final moments demands respect and accommodation. The First Amendment right to freely exercise one’s religion extends to prison and to those like Mr. Ramirez who are confined within its walls. Throughout history, clergy members have been a comforting and expected presence at executions, ministering over and praying for the condemned before death. We are pleased the Supreme Court has affirmed Mr. Ramirez’s constitutionally protected freedom to have his pastor pray by his side at such an hour.”

Transgender sports bills advance in several states, veto in one state overriden

The groundswell in state after state to prevent the unfortunate occurrence of male athletes participating in women's sports based on the biological male's so-called "transition" continues, with the Arizona Legislature becoming one of the latest states to ban male participation. CBN News reports that:

The Arizona legislature voted on Thursday to prohibit sex-change surgeries on children and to ban transgender athletes who were born male from playing on girls' sports teams.

Republican Gov. Doug Ducey has not said if he will sign either of the bills.

The article notes that this week, governors in Indiana and Utah "vetoed similar bills that were intended to protect the rights of women and girls who are athletes."

However, in Utah, as the National File website reports, "...the Utah legislature voted to override Governor Spencer Cox’s veto of a measure that would prevent transgender girls from participating in female sports in schools across the state." The override vote in the House was 56-18 vote; in the Senate it was 21-8.  The article says:

Cox, who has “he/him” pronouns in his Twitter bio, wanted Utah to become the first state to find a “compromise” that would protect the integrity of women’s sports while also allowing limited participation form “transgender youth.”

Regarding the Indiana legislation, according to the article, Governor Eric Holcomb "claimed the bill left 'too many unanswered questions' and questioned the need for such legislation at the state level."

The Arizona bill dealing with attempts to change a child's gender would only limit surgeries, but not "hormone therapies and puberty blockers," according to CBN. That is unlike Alabama's proposed Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act, currently awaiting consideration in the House, which would ban surgeries and treatments.

The 3 - March 20, 2022

This week's edition of The 3, featuring three stories of relevance to the Christian community, includes several stories relative to the LGBTQ+ agenda, including the continued opposition to allowing male swimmer Will (Lia) Thomas to compete in women's events.  Also, a teacher in Kansas has faced action against her for refusing to call a student by the requested "gender identity" pronouns.  And, backlash among gay employees at Disney continues in light of Florida's passage of a bill protecting parental rights and impressionable children regarding "gender identity" continues.

Male swimmer wins again in women's competition, Christian women's group files complaint

Ordinarily, one could be dazzled and amazed by the women's swimming records that have fallen as the result of the University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas.  However, Thomas' records have been tarnished because they have been challenged by a biological man, named Will Thomas.

And, the Christian-based advocacy organization Concerned Women for America has said, "enough."  According to the Christian Newswire website:

Concerned Women for America (CWA) filed a formal Civil Rights Complaint under Title IX with the U.S. Department of Education against the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) for refusing to protect the rights of college female athletes under federal law.

UPenn continues to allow male athletes who identify as women to compete in women's sports. Lia Thomas (formerly Will Thomas), a Division I swimmer who is biologically male but rostered as a senior on UPenn's women's team, has competed throughout the season displacing female teammates in events and shattering pool, league, and national records.

Penny Nance, CEO and President of CWA, says: "The future of women's sports is at risk and the equal rights of female athletes are being infringed," adding, "We filed a formal civil rights complaint against UPenn in response to this injustice." Nance went on to say, "Any school that defies federal civil rights law by denying women equal opportunities in athletic programs, forcing women to compete against athletes who are biologically male must be held accountable."

Kansas teacher fights back after being forced to use gender identity pronouns

Perhaps you heard my conversation that aired last week on The Meeting House on Faith Radio with Monica Gill, a teacher in Loudoun County, VA, who is challenging her school district's policy requiring teachers to use a student's "gender identity" pronouns rather than the ones corresponding to the biological gender.  The conversation can be found online at FaithRadio.org and through the Faith Radio app. 

The Christian Post reports on Kansas teacher Pamela Ricard, who, according to article on the website, "...has filed a lawsuit against her school district after being suspended for refusing to use a trans-identified student’s preferred name and pronouns because doing so would violate her religious beliefs."  Ricard is a middle-school math teacher in Geary County, Kansas.  The story states:

According to the lawsuit, Ricard was suspended in April 2021 for three days and given a written reprimand because she called a biologically female student by her legal name and used female pronouns.

The article also notes:

The lawsuit further states that Ricard is a Christian who “holds sincere religious beliefs consistent with the traditional Christian and biblical understanding of the human person and biological sex.”

“Any policy that requires Ms. Ricard to refer to a student by a gendered, non-binary, or plural pronoun (e.g., he/him, she/her, they/them, zhe/zher, etc.) or salutation (Mr., Miss, Ms.) or other gendered language that is different from the student’s biological sex actively violates Ms. Ricard’s religious beliefs,” continued the lawsuit.

Ricard had requested an accommodation, but was denied by the school board.

Disney LGBTQ employees chide company for perceived lack of support over FL parental rights bill, company decides to put gay kiss in animated film

Last week, I reported to you about the passage of the Parental Rights in Education Bill, which was passed by the Florida Legislature and affirms the rights of parents in directing their children's education and prevents the teaching of so-called "gender identity" for young students in schools.  

The CEO of the Walt Disney Company, Bob Chapek, spoke out against the legislation toward the final days of the legislative process, but was derided because he did not speak out soon enough, according to LGBTQ+ employees of the company. CBN News reported that gay employees of Pixar, which is a division of Disney, in addition to criticizing the degree of Chapek's opposition to the Florida legislation, also demanded that a same-sex kiss that had been cut from the upcoming Buzz Lightyear movie be restored.  The company announced that the action will be included in the animated feature.

The CBN story linked to a piece on the Variety website, which said:

According to a source close to the production, Pixar’s next feature film, “Lightyear” — starring Chris Evans as the putative real-life inspiration for the “Toy Story” character Buzz Lightyear — does feature a significant female character, Hawthorne (voiced by Uzo Aduba), who is in a meaningful relationship with another woman. While the fact of that relationship was never in question at the studio, a kiss between the characters had been cut from the film. Following the uproar surrounding the Pixar employees’ statement and Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s handling of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, however, the kiss was reinstated into the movie last week.

The Variety piece notes several examples of Pixar's previous attempts to interject gay-friendly content in the past; it states:

In Pixar’s 27-year history, there have been just a small handful of unambiguous LGBTQ characters of any kind. In 2020’s “Onward,” a one-eyed cop (Lena Waithe), who appears in a few scenes, mentions her girlfriend. In 2019’s “Toy Story 4,” two moms hug their child goodbye at kindergarten. And 2016’s “Finding Dory” features a brief shot of what appears to be a lesbian couple, though the movie’s filmmakers were coy about defining them that way at the time. The most overtly LGBTQ project in Pixar’s canon is a 2020 short film, “Out,” about a gay man struggling with coming out to his parents — which the studio released on Disney Plus as part of its SparkShorts program.

The story also points out that a LGBTQ relationship in Luca was toned down and gay symbols in backgrounds of Soul and Inside Out have been nixed in the past. Also a walkout has been announced for Tuesday as a step to "regain trust of the LGBTQIA+ community and employees."

The 3 - March 13, 2022

This week's edition of The 3, featuring three stories of relevance to the Christian community, includes a new law in Florida that protects parents and young students from harmful ideology regarding sexuality. Also, the pro-life Texas Heartbeat Act has withstood another challenge in court. And, the leadership of a large organization of Christian communicators has reaffirmed it commitment to upholding Biblical truth.

Bill to restrain teaching of LGBTQ agenda to younger school children passes FL Legislature

It's being derided as the "Don't Say Gay" bill in Florida, and Governor Ron DeSantis is pushing back on the legislation that has now been passed by both chambers of the state Legislature. The Christian Post states:

At the Florida Strawberry Festival in Plant City Monday, the Republican governor responded to a question from WFLA reporter Evan Donovan about HR 1557, “an act relating to parental rights in education.”

The bill would ban “classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation and gender identity” for kindergarten through third-grade students. Donovan prefaced the question by noting that critics refer to the legislation as the “Don’t Say Gay Bill,” a characterization that DeSantis took issue with.

The article goes on to say:

The Christian Family Coalition Florida, an organization that has advocated for HR 1557, issued a statement to The Christian Post describing the Senate’s passage of the legislation as “a huge victory for parental rights.”

In a tweet last week, DeSantis’ Press Secretary Christina Pushaw characterized HR 1557 as an “Anti-Grooming Bill.”

In a statement to local news outlet 10 Tampa Bay, Pushaw indicated that she came up with the term “Anti-Grooming Bill” herself, asserting that DeSantis has never used the phrase. At the same time, she maintained that “For ages 3-9, classroom instruction on sexual topics is not developmentally appropriate, and it’s difficult to understand why anyone would disagree.”

The Christian Post notes that the U.S. Department of Education has voiced its opposition for the bill.

Texas "Heartbeat Act" loses in court...again

The law has been challenged by abortion supporters and it has made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court two times, yet the law banning abortion in the state of Texas at and after the point when a heartbeat can be detected by ultrasound continues to withstand challenges and save lives.

CBN News reports that:

In a ruling Friday, the Texas Supreme Court delivered another legal blow to abortion providers' federal lawsuit challenging the state's abortion restrictions.

The court ruled state agencies are not authorized to enforce the law, and thus, recommended the abortion industry's lawsuit be dismissed.

It's the enforcement mechanism that has protected the law from being struck down in court, relying on private citizens to bring civil lawsuits rather than authorize state agencies to punish abortion providers. The CBN article states:

In a statement, the pro-life group Texas Right to Life called the ruling, "a big victory."

"Today's ruling is a big victory for the life-saving Texas Heartbeat Act," the group said. "We have said from the beginning that abortionists' lawsuit should be dismissed. The Legislature clearly never intended state agencies to participate in enforcing the Texas Heartbeat Act, and the Supreme Court of Texas agreed. This is not the final step in the journey, as the case will now return to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, but it affirms a positive path forward for the historic law. We're grateful that the Texas Heartbeat Act will continue saving thousands of lives, and we're hopeful that the judiciary will soon pave the way to protect all preborn children by overturning Roe v. Wade."

National Religious Broadcasters Board includes denunciation of CRT in list of resolutions

Last week, members of the Faith Radio team attended the 2022 National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Nashville.  The annual event is an opportunity for like-minded Christian communicators to worship, learn, and fellowship together.  

A number of sessions at this year's convention dealt with how Christians can respond to cultural trends. The NRB Board of Directors, in fact, according to an article on the ChristianHeadlines.com website, gave its approval to a resolution entitled, “Opposing Critical Theory and Anti-Christian Ideology.” It said in part that, "Critical theory places culpability for human suffering at the feet of anyone who thrives within, benefits from, or upholds an authority structure subjectively deemed corrupt by the secular culture, including God-given institutions such as the church, traditional family, and much more..."

The article goes on to say:

As reported by The Christian Post, the resolution also states that Christians are to “embrace our citizenship in God’s kingdom and reject false promises of secular utopia.”

“As Americans, we inherit founding principles (equality of mankind, God-given rights, and self-government) that point to worthy and Biblical ideals for an orderly society, and we endeavor to advance these cherished promises for all,” the resolution said.

According to a press release, the organization passed a number of other resolutions, with the titles:

• Opposing Deplatforming Based on Religious Viewpoint Discrimination
• On Maintaining Full Protections for Religious Nonprofits
• Opposing Federal Regulatory Overreach of Internet Regulations
• Urging that Congress Pass the Local Radio Freedom Act
• Urging that Congress Oppose Passage of the Equality Act
• Combatting Antisemitism
• Urging Strong Protections for Donor Privacy in Charitable Giving, and 
• Affirming the Right to Life.

I am grateful that Faith Radio belongs to NRB, an organization that has reaffirmed its commitment to Biblical truth. One of my Meeting House guests throughout the years has been pastor, author, and podcast host Lucas Miles, who observed how some of the more progressive Christian leaders took NRB to task in a personnel matter last year, involving a staff member who had violated a directive.  Lucas penned these words, appearing at The Stream: "The real play...is to try to take down the National Religious Broadcasters, which is one of the few evangelical Christian organizations that hasn’t been completely infiltrated by duplicitous Marxist foot soldiers peddling socialism, vaccine passports and Critical Race Theory as they attempt to dismantle every remnant of a Biblical worldview."

Miles added:

So wake up church, stop believing the tired lies of the Left. It’s time to double-down on support for the National Religious Broadcasters and any other organization that still stands for Biblical truth.

The 3 - March 6, 2022

This week's edition of The 3, featuring three stories of relevance to the Christian community, shines the light on a case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court involving a football coach who went to midfield after every game to pray and lost his job as the result.  Also, a group of pro-life individuals who had been arrested for participating in peaceful activity on behalf of unborn children in North Carolina have reached a settlement in the county where the incidents occurred.  And, the U.S. Senate turned back an effort to pass a Federal law in support of abortion, which would have overturned state pro-life laws.

Former and current NFL pros joined fired Washington coach's team

High-profile individuals from the government and sporting realms are lining up behind the former Bremerton, Washington, football coach, Joe Kennedy, who was suspended by his school district and eventually terminated because of his postgame practice of going to the 50-yard line to pray and was joined by others - he had been doing that for seven years when a complaint was filed, setting in motion the chain of events resulting in his firing.  The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear his case - again - after sending it back to lower courts several years ago.

In a recent press release issued by First Liberty, the firm that represents the coach, it notes that "Six former U.S. Attorneys General, Coach Tommy Bowden—son of legendary football coach Bobby Bowden, former college and NFL coach Lou Holtz and America First Policy Institute, and NFL Hall of Famers Steve Largent and Darrell Green joined dozens of individuals and organizations by filing 'friend-of-the-court' briefs..."

Alliance Defending Freedom added to that list on its website, saying that current NFL players and other former players have signed on to a "friend-of-the-court" brief in which ADF participated, listing "Kirk Cousins, Joe DeLamielleure, Nick Foles, Phil Olsen, Christian Ponder, Drew Stanton, Harry Swayne, and Jack Youngblood."

ADF's John Bursch is quoted as saying, referring to Coach Kennedy: "The fact that he prayed after a game doesn’t change the fact that his speech is just as protected by the First Amendment, and we hope the Supreme Court will reverse the 9th Circuit and affirm just that.”

North Carolina county settles with pro-life organization regarding on-site protests

In March of 2020 in Greensboro, North Carolina, members of a pro-life organization called, Love Life, were engaged in speaking up for the unborn publicly - ChristianHeadlines.com reported that "police arrested Love Life members for allegedly violating COVID-19 restrictions outside A Woman’s Choice abortion clinic in Greensboro. The members were praying and conducting sidewalk counseling, although they insisted they were following CDC recommendations for social distancing."

The story goes on to say:

Alliance Defending Freedom sued the county and the city of Greensboro on behalf of the ministry and the members, asserting that the police’s actions violated the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech and religious liberty.

As part of the settlement, Guilford County agreed that the ministry’s actions are protected by the First Amendment. The county also will pay $15,000 in attorneys’ fees. ADF agreed to file a dismissal of the case, while the ministry’s members agreed not to seek damages.

The article does note that "ADF’s lawsuit against Greensboro is still active." Denise Harle of ADF noted, " If abortion businesses could stay open to perform elective abortions during the pandemic, Christians abiding by health and safety guidelines should certainly be allowed to pray outside."

This echoes a suit filed in a Charlotte instance in 2020 on behalf of a group of pro-life people, including well-known Christian communicator David Benham. CBN.com related that in April of the same year 
that David, the head of the pro-life group, Cities4Life, "and other representatives of pro-life groups were across the street from an abortion clinic in Charlotte, North Carolina to offer counseling and prayer to expectant mothers considering abortion."  Alliance Defending Freedom is representing Benham and those who stood with him.

The article continues: "As CBN News reported, police arrested the activists and cited them for violating COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines, even though they were following all the health and safety requirements including social distancing.

This is another instance of civil authorities using the COVID pandemic in order to override constitutional rights.  The CBN article states:

During a previous interview with CBN News, Benham said we need to love our neighbors and not let our pro-life views be silenced because of COVID.

"It's viewpoint discrimination. They're using this COVID emergency as an opportunity to grasp and silence our voices so we have a constitutional issue on our hands and we really have to stand against it," Benham said.

Senate votes to halt bill that would establish so-called "right to abortion" and override state laws.

Abortion was front and center in the U.S. Senate recently, as lawmakers attempted to push through the Women’s Health Protection Act, described in an article at The Christian Post as a “bill to protect a person’s ability to determine whether to continue or end a pregnancy, and to protect a health care provider’s ability to provide abortion services.”

Carol Tobias, the president of National Right to Life, said: “This legislation would have made sweeping changes, including expanding taxpayer funding of abortion, and eliminating requirements that a woman be given information about the development of her unborn child so she can make an informed decision.” The Director of Federal Legislation for NRLC, Jennifer Popik, said, "This legislation would quash nearly all existing protective state laws,” adding, “With this bill, elective abortion would have become the procedure that must always be facilitated — never delayed, never impeded to the slightest degree.”

The bill has already passed the House and needed 60 votes to move forward in the Senate. It only garnered 48 votes, with 46 opposed.