The 3 - July 30, 2023

This week's edition of The 3, highlighting three relevant, recent news stories of interest to the Christian community, includes a victory initiated by a Veterans Administration employee, whose lawsuit forced the VA to institute a process through which a religious accommodation could be obtained by employees not wishing to participate in abortion.  Also, Christians are using the 303 Creative case in order not to be forced by government to communicate messages that violate their deeply-held beliefs.  And, Ohio voters are going to the polls next week in order to increase the percentage of voters who can vote to change the state constitution - potentially impacting a November vote that would allow abortion in all nine months of pregnancy and promote treatments that falsely promise to help a minor to change his or her biological sex.

VA nurse practitioner opens door for religious accommodations for VA employees nationwide

Stephanie Carter is a nurse practitioner for the Veterans Administration, and has worked for the VA for 23 years.  Last year, she filed a request for a religious accommodation so that she would not be forced to participate in the termination of a pre-born child's life through abortion.  That accommodation was denied, with the VA saying it did not have a process through which such a request could be granted.

That is according to the website for First Liberty, which provided assistance for Carter by filing a lawsuit against the VA. Danielle Runyan, Senior Counsel for the Christian legal advocacy organization, stated: “We’re pleased that the VA implemented a nationwide policy to protect the religious liberty rights of all VA employees,” adding, “Stephanie Carter is living proudly by her faith and should not be forced to choose between her faith and her career. Because of her courage, every VA employee in the nation can now seek a religious accommodation from participating in a procedure they find unconscionable.”

The Daily Signal noted that:

The VA first published an interim final rule in September allowing for the VA to provide abortion counseling and abortions up until birth. The interim final rule took effect 30 days after being published. It came just a few months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in late June 2022.

Members of the Senate had balked at the rule, claiming that the VA policy violated federal law prohibiting taxpayer-funded abortion. The VA had stated, “Abortion restrictions are creating a medical emergency for those we serve.” The Daily Signal said, "The VA claimed that restricting veterans’ and their beneficiaries’ access to abortions would subject them to 'increased risk of loss of future fertility, significant morbidity, or death.'”

SCOTUS free speech decision influencing other cases

Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has protected business owners from being compelled to communicate messages that violate their beliefs, that decision is continuing to produce waves of legal action across the nation.

Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented the plaintiff in the 303 Creative case, is continuing to pursue justice for another of its clients who has been harassed by the same governmental body in Colorado that was sued in that case. A report on the ADF website stated that the attorneys with the organization "...filed a supplemental notice...with the Colorado Supreme Court asking it to apply that ruling and similarly affirm the First Amend­ment rights of cake artist Jack Phillips and Masterpiece Cakeshop. An activist attorney and Colorado officials have misused the same state law that was at issue in 303 Creative to punish Phillips for more than a decade."

Alliance Defending Freedom also represents a Louisville, KY photographer named Chelsey Nelson. Oral arguments were held this past Friday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.  The ADF website states:

ADF attorneys are asking the court to uphold the First Amendment rights of Chelsey Nelson and her photography studio and affirm a district court’s ruling in Chelsey Nelson Photography v. Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government. That court concluded Louisville cannot misuse its laws to compel Nelson to create photographs and blogs celebrating a view of marriage she does not believe. The city of Louisville then appealed that ruling to the 6th Circuit.

In the articles on both cases, ADF attorneys repeated a phrase at the center of the 303 Creative case, "Free speech is for everyone..."

Ohio voters to decide on revising state constitution and protect life

It's a two-pronged process, and it is vital that pro-life organizations and groups educate voters regarding what is a stake in Ohio, where early voting has already begun on a ballot measure that would affect the potential results of a vote in November.

The Daily Citizen explains:

Issue 1 is a legislatively referred ballot measure that would raise the threshold needed to change the state’s constitution from a simple majority to 60%. Issue 1 needs a simple majority to pass.

According to the official argument in favor of Issue 1,

A YES vote on Issue 1 protects our Constitution from deep-pocketed, out-of-state interests. By passing Issue 1, the People will ensure constitutional changes are widely accepted and declare that Ohio’s Constitution is not for sale.

The article goes on to say:

Issue 1 is designed to counter the extremist abortion lobby’s push to permit the killing of preborn life – at any stage in a pregnancy – this November. Abortion is currently legal in Ohio through 22 weeks of a woman’s pregnancy.

The Daily Citizen notes that, "the well-funded abortion lobby – which hired professional, out-of-state name gatherers – submitted enough petitions to place a pro-abortion measure on the state’s ballot in November."  And, LifeNews.com reported last week that the November ballot initiative has been officially certified by the Ohio Secretary of State.  It reported:

Ohio Right to Life released a statement on the Secretary of State’s announcement that the ACLU’s abortion amendment collected enough valid signatures and will be on the ballot this November. The pro-life group said this ballot measure would enshrine abortion until birth and remove all protections for the preborn—including a parent’s ability to stop their child from being pressured into an abortion. Additionally, it would enshrine the “right” for minors to receive harmful hormone-suppressing drugs, like Lupron, and undergo sex-change surgeries without their parent’s knowledge.

Ohio Right to Life CEO Peter Range noted to Life News, "Based upon the reality that the ACLU barely qualified for the ballot, despite spending millions of dollars, it is clear that a majority of Ohioans do not want this extreme amendment. We ask all Ohioans, who love life, to join us in rejecting this extreme amendment.”

The 3 - July 23, 2023

This week's edition of The 3 includes the news of another state passing legislation to protect children from treatments and surgeries that falsely promise a change in "gender," which is a term that has come to mean something other than biological sex.  Also, a biological male will be representing the Netherlands in the upcoming Miss Universe pageant, while another competition has decided to only allow biological women to compete.  Plus, a Christian after-school program will be allowed to meet in a Rhode Island school district as the result of a court decision.

Another state votes to protect children from harmful gender treatments

The number of states whose legislatures have voted to protect children from treatments and surgeries that claim to help a child change his or her sex continues to grow, with the addition of Louisiana this week.

The Washington Stand reports that:

Before this year, only four states had passed legislation prohibiting gender transition procedures on minors, which include irreversible removal of healthy organs and permanent sterilization through cross-sex hormones. As of Tuesday, when the Louisiana legislature enacted protections over the governor’s veto, 21 states have protections (one state improved on previously enacted language).

And, there could be more come into the fold; the article notes: "There is still time for the Ohio Senate (in session until December 31) to pass HB 68, or for the North Carolina legislature (in session until July 28) to override the governor’s veto of HB 808."

The Washington Stand does say that: 

...there is still much work to do, even in states that passed a bill this year. In some states, the legislators pulled their punches. The West Virginia Senate, for instance, stripped out all enforcement mechanisms in an 11th-hour floor amendment. Utah’s bill authorizes the foxes to guard the henhouse. Georgia’s bill is surprisingly weak, with only one enforcement mechanism and large exception. Even among the solid bills, at least a dozen can be improved by prohibiting insurance or public funds from covering gender transition procedures for minors.

"Miss" Universe candidate from one country is actually male

There will be at least one man in the next Miss Universe pageant, and perhaps another, if a contestant in Puerto Rico wins that territory's pageant.  The Daily Signal released an article that reported that a biological male presenting as a woman won the Netherlands Miss Universe pageant. Rikkie Valerie Kollé is 22 years old, has had "gender reassignment surgery," and stated on Instagram: “Yes, I am a trans woman and I want to share my story, but I am also Rikkie and that is what matters to me,” adding, “I did this on my own and enjoyed every moment of it.”

Another male who presents as a woman, Anne Jakrajutatip, now owns the rights to the Miss Universe pageant; the Daily Signal describes him as "an outspoken activist who is the founder and president of a transgender rights organization called Life Inspired for Transsexual Foundation."

The Miss Italy competition has taken a different direction; Newsweek reports it..

...will not allow transgender women to compete, with its patron saying that contestants "must be a woman from birth," weeks after Miss Netherlands crowned its first transgender winner.

"Lately, beauty contests have been trying to make the news by also using strategies that I think are a bit absurd," Miss Italy Official Patron Patrizia Mirigliani said this month during an interview with Radio Cusano, Il Primato Nazionale reported, according to a translation from Google.

"Since it was born, my competition has foreseen in its regulation the clarification according to which one must be a woman from birth. Probably because, even then, it was foreseen that beauty could undergo modifications, or that women could undergo modifications, or that men could become women," Mirigliani added, Il Primato Nazionale reported.

The Newsweek article notes that, "In 2012, the Miss Universe contest announced that it was changing its rules to allow transgender women to compete."  Last month, the Daily Mail reported:

Miss America has tightened their gender rules to ban transgender contestants who have not had a fully completed medical transition for their 2024 season.

In the new Miss 2024 contract, seen by The Standard, competitors now have to identify either as 'a born female' or a female who has 'fully completed sexual reassignment surgery'.

The article noted, "Previously the pageant had allowed anyone who simply identified as 'a woman' to participate."

Ministry's after-school outreach allowed to proceed in Rhode Island

Recently, I had the chance to feature the Executive Vice President of Child Evangelism Fellowship, Moises Estaves, on The Meeting House program.  CEF is devoted to bringing the gospel of Christ to children all around the world.  One of the principal ways that is done is through the Good News Clubs, which are allowed to meet at public schools across the nation during non-school hours. 

Liberty Counsel reminded readers on its website recently that:

In June 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court in Good News Club v. Milford Central School ruled that public schools violate the First Amendment by not providing equal access and equal treatment to Christian clubs when the school has opened the forum to secular clubs, as in this case.

Unfortunately, school officials in Providence, Rhode Island were denying this equal access to children in the state. Liberty Counsel reported that in 2023, it "filed a lawsuit on behalf of CEF Rhode Island after the school district discriminated against them by repeatedly ignoring their applications and not allowing its Good News Clubs on campuses while allowing other clubs to meet." Recently, according to its website:

...a federal district court approved a Consent Decree that prevents the school district from discriminating against CEF, declaring the Christian clubs are entitled to equal access “on the same terms” as other after school clubs.

The website notes:

As a result of the victory, the Providence Public School District is permanently mandated to treat the Good News Clubs “on an equal basis with similarly situated organizations, such as Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and Girls on the Run.”

Liberty Counsel has been quite active in defending Good News Clubs, having been involved in some 200 cases, without a loss.

The 3 - July 16, 2023

This week's edition of The 3, highlighting three recent stories impacting the Christian community, includes a reprieve for a new Tennessee law that was passed in order to protect children from dangerous sex-change treatments and surgeries.  Also, a federal judge has taking aim at Big Tech and government actors working together to censor social media content.  And, a biological male who wants to use the girl's bathroom at a Wisconsin school will temporarily be allowed to do so, but the school district's superintendent intends to challenge a recent court decision favoring the student. 

Appeals court overturns lower court decision to block new TN law protecting children

Across the country, not only are concerned citizens, including Christians, responding to treatments and procedures that are designed to help a child who is confused about his or her sexuality "change" his sex, by speaking out against these actions, but lawmakers have taken concrete steps to ban them.

Tennessee is one of those states, with its Legislature passing and governor signing legislation that would prevent children from undergoing these permanent, damaging sex-change steps from taking place.  A federal lower court judge temporarily halted the legislation from becoming effective on July 1, but it was restored in a federal appeals court while the court case proceeds.

TheHill.com reported that: "The state’s ban was set to go into effect on July 1, but a federal judge halted its implementation,siding with the American Civil Liberties Union, who said the law interferes with parental rights to choose necessary medical care for their children."  The article went on to say:

Two of the three judges on the appeals panel ruled to reinstate the law, saying that decisions over transgender care are better left up to state legislatures rather than judges.

It quoted from Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton, who wrote, "Given the high stakes of these nascent policy deliberations — the long-term health of children facing gender dysphoria — sound government usually benefits from more rather than less debate..."

1819 News quoted from a statement by Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, who said: "The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a critical ruling in favor of Tennessee's right to enforce commonsense laws against giving kids experimental and life-altering sex changing drugs," adding, "Proud to have led a 17-state brief in support of Tennessee's law, highlighting the critical difference between evidence-based science and the extreme gender ideology that is pushing these drugs and causing irreparable harm to our youth."

That article also gave a progress report on the court case involving Alabama's VCAP bill, implementing a ban on gender treatments and surgeries, which was partially put on hold by a federal district judge.  The article stated: 

A three-judge 11th Circuit Court of Appeals panel heard oral arguments for VCAP in November 2022. The 11th Circuit is currently considering Alabama's appeal of the district court's preliminary injunction order. The trial is set to begin in April 2024.

Judge rules against policy linking government officials to Big Tech

For years, Christian individuals and organizations have sounded the alarm about censorship on social media platforms.  It is certainly a concern in the Christian community, and a ruling on the Fourth of July actually shows that Big Tech censors were working hand-in-hand with the federal government.

Liberty Counsel stated on its website:

A federal judge issued a historic, 155-page ruling on Independence Day citing “substantial evidence” the federal government engaged in large-scale censorship efforts targeting social media content that questioned or countered its “official” narratives. The 86-pages of background facts detail a shocking pattern of consistent pressure and threats exerted by the Biden administration demanding that social media platforms censor protected speech.

The article says: "In response to the evidence, Chief U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty for the Western District of Louisiana concluded, 'the alleged suppression has potentially resulted in millions of free speech violations.'”  It goes on to say:

Judge Doughty said the evidence presented in the case paints the federal government as an “Orwellian ‘Ministry of Truth.’”

Judge Doughty wrote, “…the present case arguably involves the most massive attack against free speech in United States’ history. In their attempts to suppress alleged disinformation, the Federal Government, and particularly the Defendants named here, are alleged to have blatantly ignored the First Amendment’s right to free speech.”

It is not far-fetched to think that declarations that are consistent with Biblical truth could run afoul of official government narratives.  There are people in high positions who are determined to silence those with whom they disagree.  This lawsuit, championed by attorneys general from Louisiana and Missouri, indicates the length to which public officials will go to silence opposing viewpoints.  

The Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel, Mat Staver, stated: “Reading the factual findings of the disturbing pattern of censorship one would assume this is China or a dystopian novel. Sadly, this government-coordinated censorship occurred in America at the highest levels of government. The Biden administration and government agencies intentionally and knowingly deceived the public. Everyone involved must be held accountable.”

Court allows biological male to use female bathroom in WI

A school district in the Milwaukee area had implemented a policy that would require students to use the restroom corresponding to his or her biological sex.  A court has now put that policy on hold, according to WISN Television, which stated:

A federal judge says the Mukwonago School District can't enforce its ban on transgender students using restrooms that they prefer.

The ruling comes after a mother and her 11-year-old trans daughter filed a civil rights complaint against the Mukwonago Area School District.

Now, keep in mind that the phrase "trans daughter" or "trans female" actually means "biological male."

The report goes on to state:

According to the complaint, from third grade through fifth grade, her daughter was allowed to use the bathroom she preferred.

But that changed this past June during summer school when the district said she had to now use a boy's bathroom or a gender-neutral bathroom at the school.

Again, this is the mother's 11-year-old son, who, according to the district's new policy was required to use the boy's bathroom or a gender-neutral bathroom.  The judge issued a "temporary restraining order," preventing the ban from being implemented while the case proceeds.

This case brings to mind the situation involving a female student identifying as male, Gavin Grimm, who was not allowed to use the boy's bathroom at a Virginia school. That case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2021, but the high court decided not to hear the case.  So, perhaps this school district, since the high court has not ruled, decided it would test the waters on these unresolved privacy concerns. 

The WISN article said that, "Superintendent Dr. Joseph Koch indicated they'll continue the court fight," quoting him as saying, "The District will continue to defend Policy 5514 in the interest of protecting the safety, privacy, and wellness of all students."

The 3 - July 9, 2023

This week's edition of The 3, featuring three recent stories of relevance to the Christian community, includes a federal appeals court ruling that clarifies the conditions in employment law under which a religious accommodation can be granted regarding hiring LGBT individuals.  Also, the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the rights of a graphic designer to not be forced to communicate messages that violate her religious beliefs has affected the case of Oregon bakers who declined to provide a cake for a ceremony celebrating a same-sex union.  And, a British woman has received a significant financial award in her case, involving the termination of her contract due to her beliefs on gender and sexuality.

Federal appeals court clarifies Bostock, provides for religious freedom protection

The Bostock decision has been used and abused in a variety of ways - the current administration uses it to change the definition of "sex" in civil rights law to mean gender identity or sexual orientation.  But, as Liberty Counsel points out:

In June 2020, SCOTUS heard the Bostock case which combined several lawsuits, including a case where a homosexual man was fired from a county job after inquiring about starting an LGBT softball league at work, and a case where a funeral home employee was fired after dressing as a different gender. The High Court ruled that “An employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender violates Title VII.”

But, the website noted: "However, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in Bostock’s majority opinion that employers who have religious objections to employing LGBT people could possibly raise those claims in their specific cases."

So, that's what Braidwood Management, a Texas company did - it sued the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which, according to Liberty Counsel, "claims that bias against LGBT workers is a form of unlawful sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964." As the legal organization pointed out, Braidwood "operates under Christian beliefs and doctrine, which includes 'marriage is between one man and one woman.' The company, which will not hire people engaged in behavior that is 'sexually immoral or gender non-conforming,' brought the case against the [EEOC]..."

And, Braidwood's position was upheld unanimously by a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. It found, as Liberty Counsel stated: "...that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) of 1993 protects not just a church, but a private entity from violating their religious beliefs by having to employ someone who does not share the same beliefs or whose conduct does not align with the company’s views. The RFRA prevents the federal government from enforcing otherwise neutral laws that burden a person’s free exercise of religion. In this case, the RFRA protects a Christian business from having to employ homosexual or gender-dysphoric employees who are incompatible with the company’s biblical views on sexuality and marriage."

The court said, "Braidwood maintains that it has sincere and deeply held religious beliefs that heterosexual marriage is the only form of marriage sanctioned by God, pre-marital sex is wrong, and ‘men and women are to dress and behave in accordance with distinct and God-ordained, biological sexual identity.’ To that end, the EEOC guidance almost assuredly burdens the exercise of Braidwood’s religious practice.”

303 Creative Supreme Court decision affects another long-standing case

On the same day that the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in the 303 Creative, upholding the rights of a graphic designer to decline to communicate messages that violate her deeply-held beliefs, the high court sent a case it had reviewed before and sent back to the state level back again.

First Liberty reported on Friday, June 30, that in the case involving cake bakers Aaron and Melissa Klein, Oregon's Bureau of Labor and Industries...

...originally imposed a devastating $135,000 damage award against the Kleins for violating Oregon’s public accommodations statute after they declined to design and create a wedding cake celebrating a same-sex marriage. Following a series of appeals, the Supreme Court in 2019 returned the case to Oregon for further consideration in light of Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which held that government officials cannot be hostile to the free exercise of the religious beliefs of its citizens. In today’s order, the Court returned the case to Oregon to reconsider in light of 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis.

After the case was returned in 2019, the Oregon Court of Appeals waived the amount for damages, but then sent it on to the BOLI, which then assessed the Kleins $30,000. 

British Court sides with woman who lost her job due to beliefs on gender

And, in the United Kingdom, there was another positive development in the area of freedom of expression. CBN News reported that, as the result of a court decision involving her views on gender, Maya Forstater, described as a "researcher," received a significant cash award.  An article from last week said:

As CBN News reported, Forstater shared her opinion on sex and gender in 2018 in a series of tweets that didn't sit well with some of her colleagues at the Centre for Global Development (CGD). Following several complaints, Forstater's employer did not renew her contract for the following year.

Forstater took legal action when her contract was not extended, stating, "My belief...is that sex is a biological fact and is immutable. There are two sexes, male and female. Men and boys are male. Women and girls are female. It is impossible to change sex. These were until very recently understood as basic facts of life by almost everyone."

In 2021, the British High Court determined that her views were protected under the U.K.'s Equality Act.  The CBN article said, "Judge Akhlaq Choudhury said Forstater's views might be offensive to some but were covered by freedom of belief protections in the Equality Act."

Earlier this year, Christian Today reported that Forstater "has given expert evidence in support of a Christian teacher who faces being struck off the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) after allegedly misgendering a pupil."  The article from February said that Joshua Sutcliffe...

...was suspended from his Oxfordshire school over the incident and eventually dismissed. He took legal action against the school for constructive dismissal and discrimination, and the case was settled out of court.

Ms Forstater was asked to give evidence at Monday's hearing on the compelled use of preferred pronouns and the dangers of affirming trans policies in schools.