Posted on 05/15/2012 6:20:58 PM PDT by massmike
A city in Kansas, divided over a proposed ordinance that would bar organizations, including churches, from discriminating against same-sex couples, has backers saying gays deserve the protection as critics warn against the government going too far.
The Hutchinson City Council voted 3-2 to add sexual orientation to the city's anti-discrimination ordinance, which covers churches, as well as employers, restaurants and other local businesses.
However, the measure was scaled back in an effort to win enough votes for passage. The revisions to the ordinance will only prohibit firings or evictions based on their sexual orientation, while a provision was cut that also would have guaranteed access to public places, such as churches.
As it stands, churches that don't make their facilities available to the public would not be affected by the new measures, and it would not cover same-sex marriages, which are illegal in Kansas.
The Rev. Michael Herring, of First Presbyterian Church in Hutchinson, told FoxNews.com before the vote that he was divided on the ordinance, saying he believes that individuals should not be discriminated against, but worried the local government was overstepping its bounds.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Secondly, gays have never been banned from church: they just can't have membership; at least in Bible believing churches.
The entire article is even more distressing. The churches are rightly concerned. This is not about access to a Christian church by gays - of course all people are welcome to attend services to hear God’s Word, to hear the Gospel.
On the other hand, what about church membership? Isn’t that what this is leading to? I think so. If a church denys membership in their church because of “sexual orientation”, will that church be open to discrimination? Of course it will.
What about a gay couple wanting to rent the church for a marriage by a “gay” pastor. Other churches rent our facilities all the time - what happens when that church is a pro-gay church and we don’t want to rent to them? That church will be in violation of this immoral, idiotic law.
This stinks to high Heaven!!!
The serious problem here is what level of government can require businesses to obey social opinion?
That is, can the federal government require businesses to employ homosexuals, or the state government, or the county or city government, or all of the above?
This should be the essence of the appeal. While a business may be impressed by federal, state, county, and local laws, there must be a dividing line of which government dictates what laws.
Typically, supremacy is at issue. But only when there is disagreement in the law. That is, state law overrules city law, but only if they disagree. So is it within the authority of a city to make law *not* authorized by a higher government authority?
Just because a city can make a law, doesn’t mean it should be allowed to. The expression, “not your job” comes to mind.
A long time ago there was some quaint idea of Separation of Church and State.
Kansas??? I just assumed normal people lived there.
Hutch used to be normal.
LOL! Great laugh in the morning. Glad I’d swallowed my coffee first, lightman. Please give me a warning, next time, FRiend!
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