There aren’t many times in life when a person hopes, really hopes, and prays fervently that they are wrong about something. Now is one of those times for me. I had hoped that if same-marriage were ever forced on the nation, as it now has been, the Left would be content with the victory and find a way to co-exist with people who don’t agree. That advocates for gay rights would exhibit the same tolerance they are asking for.
But I didn’t think that would happen because there have been lots of clues along the way suggesting that attaining same-sex marriage was never the Left’s end game.
And since the Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell vs. Hodges was announced, the onslaught of demand for more change has been stunning. The organization, Freedom to Marry is closing up shop. It’s being re-incarnated into a new group Freedom for All. This group will use the same strategic playbook and many of the same players to try to get state and federal non-discrimination laws on the books. These laws force Christians to act against their beliefs when operating their businesses. The Human Rights Campaign is joining this effort and also working to force all county clerks to register gay marriages even where the task could easily be transferred to clerks who don’t have faith-based objections. There have been calls for the legalization of polygamy. TIME Magazine came out with a piece recommending that tax-exempt status for churches and most non-profits be abandoned.
The Left is now pulling out all the stops to force acceptance of same-sex marriage into the institutions central to the most committed and devoted people of faith.
One of the saddest examples of this is demonstrated in a petition from moveon.org’s so-called gay Christian activist arm, Faithful America. The petition is directed toward a Kansas City rescue mission. It’s titled “Tell City Union Mission: Stop Rejecting Homeless LGBT People.” The caption line is: “There’s nothing Christian about denying beds to homeless same-sex couples — other Christian organizations serving the homeless accept families of all stripes. We call on you to end your discriminatory policy.”
The petition continues: “Jesus’ words about welcoming the stranger didn’t include any asterisks excluding LGBT people.”
City Union Mission does serve LGBT people and takes them in if they’re homeless. But the mission draws the line at allowing same-sex cohabitation at their facility. They also require transgender people to dress according to their God-given sex. But this Soros-funded group now demands that this change.
In the marriage decision, all nine justices affirmed that religious liberty should be protected. Even the majority opinion, written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, stresses that religions may teach and advocate their doctrinal opposition to same-sex marriage.
This is a slender reed to hang on to. America was supposed to be about the ability to express, to live out one’s faith inside and outside the walls of the church. The battle now is to hold onto that.