City of Houston subpoenas pastors' sermons, speeches, etc.

We are learning from a report by the Houston Chronicle that, in a move which clearly violates the freedom of religion, the City of Houston has subpoenaed "all speeches, presentations, or sermons related to HERO [the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance], the Petition, Mayor Annise Parker, homosexuality, or gender identity prepared by, delivered by, revised by, or approved by you [pastors] or in your possession."

The Religion News Service offers a helpful background to explain the reason for the subpoena (links original, emphases mine):

Houston has subpoenaed sermons given by local pastors who oppose an equal rights ordinance, it was revealed Tuesday (Oct. 14).

Houston Mayor Annise Parker, who drew headlines for becoming the first openly lesbian mayor of a major American city, has led support for the ordinance. The measure bans discrimination among businesses that serve the public, private employers, in housing and in city employment and city contracting.

Under the ordinance, transgender people barred access to a restroom would be able to file a discrimination complaint, one of the hotly contested parts of the ordinance.
The ordinance, which exempted religious institutions, was passed in June, though its implementation has been delayed due to legal complaints.

Opponents were hoping to repeal the ordinance through a repeal initiative, claiming the city’s attorney determined wrongly they had not gathered enough signatures to qualify for a ballot. The ordinance’s opponents reportedly gathered 50,000 signatures, well over the 17,269 needed for a November vote to repeal the measure, though proponents of the measure have questioned the validity of the signatures.

Let's presume that some of the signatures were invalid; that should be easy enough to determine. To invalidate the repeal,though, would require that more than 32,000 of the collected signatures were invalid. Is this at all likely?

When Mayor Parker first announced her anti-discrimination legislation last April, the Houston Chronicle reported her as saying:

"The Houston I know doesn't discriminate. It really doesn't matter in Houston, and it shouldn't matter in Houston, your place of origin, your gender, your age, what physical limitations you may have or who you choose to love," said Parker, the first openly gay mayor of a major American city. "It's time to codify in ordinance that position."

One might well - and rightly ask- if Houston doesn't discriminate in the first place, why is such legislation even necessary at all?

At the same time, one might well - and, again, rightly ask - isn't the City of Houston discriminating against "conservative Christian activists"? Shouldn't there be a law to protect them if the city of Houston doesn't discriminate?

A news round up - March 3rd

•  Bypassing the Congress, President Obama has eased U.S.A. immigration laws regarding foreigners linked to terrorism while closing borders to those fleeing from terrorism.

• A self-styled "gay conservative woman" has written an excellent op-ed in The Washington Times in which she explains her support for the legislation Governor Brewer vetoed last week in Arizona. She notes that "Of all the people in the world who should understand the scourge of living under constant threat of losing life, liberty or the ability to make a living because of who you are, it’s gays. It has been disgusting to watch supposed gay “leadership” drag young gays and lesbians through an indoctrination that insists that in order to have equality, you must force other people to do your will, make them betray who they are, and punish them if they offend you." Please, read the entire piece.

• Just over two years ago, a gay hair stylist refused to cut the hair of one of his clients because she opposes same-sex "marriage" requiring her to find a new stylist. As the "LGBT community" rejoices over Governor Brewer's veto because of claims of discrimination, they acknowledge no discrimination in this case - there are likely others - and so betray a serious logical disconnect. We've not seen stories of bakers or others refusing to serve a homosexual couple because they were homosexual, but only those who refused service for the wedding; there is a great difference and this is not what happened with the hairstylist. This cries of bigotry and hypocrisy.

• Medicare is telling some people that they can stay in their homes to receive needed treatment, whereas the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) requires them to go into a nursing home.

•  The Walt Disney Company will no longer help fund the Boy Scouts of America.

•  Hundreds of thousands of Jews gathered in Jerusalem to protest new legislation in Israel that would remove an exemption from mandatory military service.

•  Illinoisans have saved some $37 billion since electricity deregulation laws took effect in Illinois in 1998. One wonders what would happen in other industries were deregulated.

•  On Sunday, Pope Francis accidentally uttered an obscenity while speaking in Italian. The mistake he made - and immediately corrected - is an easy one to make given the laws of Italian pronunciation. The media has largely given him a pass on the error; one wonders what would have happened had Benedict XVI made the same mistake.

•  The Islamic terrorist organization Boko Haram killed at least 70 people in attacks over the weekend in Nigeria.