Wisconsin: 5 Churches and a Christian Radio Station Sue Town Over New LGBT Ordinance

Five Christian churches and a Christian radio station are suing the town of De Pere, Wisconsin over a new ordinance that may restrict religious freedom. From the Christian Post:

Last November, the city enacted an ordinance that bars discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation and other social classifiers like race and gender in areas such as housing, employment and public accommodation. …

The lawsuit claims that the De Pere ordinance does not specifically include protections for religious organizations and that the city government has made no assurances that a religious objection will be provided for faith-based institutions.

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Response: There are real concerns that the new ordinance may ultimately target conservative Christian churches and organizations forcing them to violate their Biblical beliefs. According to the article:

The organizations fear that the ordinance could force them to hire people that  don’t agree with the Bible’s teachings and also fear that it could force them to promote messages and events that don’t align with their faith, such as same-sex weddings.

Ironically these same issues were brought up before the US Supreme Court during their discussions over same-sex marriage. There were real concerns that legalizing gay marriage might lead to potential religious liberty problems for those who disagree because of religious teachings.

Now new ordinances are being passed all around the country adding LGBT to race, creed, gender, and disability to the local anti-discrimination laws. The problem is that religious liberty is now being compromised by some of these new expanded laws.

Many around the country have voiced their opinions that LGBT rights should trump religious freedom which they consider to be nothing more than an excuse to willfully discriminate. Others of us who are conservative Bible believing Christians believe that there should be exemptions made for religious freedom which is after all still specifically guaranteed by the First Amendment. That is what the lawsuits in this case are all about.               *Top