It’s Time For Democrats To Examine Their Own Party
Those two adjectives describe the modern Democratic Party.
By now you have heard of the battle in Houston between Annise Parker, the city’s first openly gay mayor, and local Christians.
Here’s a brief synopsis:
The City Council passed the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) in May, and it prohibits discrimination based on a list of protected characteristics, including sexual orientation and gender identity.
Opponents of the legislation, concerned about transgender men and women using their restroom of choice, launched a petition drive to put the issue on the November ballot. With only 17,269 signatures needed and 50,000 collected, opponents of the ordinance were poised to succeed, but the city threw out the signatures, citing “irregularities” and “problems.”
A lawsuit was filed by opponents of the ordinance, and city attorneys subpoenaed the sermons and other communications of five pastors which referred to “HERO, the Petition, Mayor Annise Parker, homosexuality, or gender identity.” The pastors were not involved in the lawsuit, but were involved in the petition drive. In response to the media backlash, the city changed the language to exclude the word “sermons,” but opponents are not satisfied and remain skeptical.
First of all, Democrats may wonder why some Christians oppose this legislation or even care about restroom preferences. While reasonable Americans support anti-discrimination laws, it is not outlandish to either question the appropriateness of transgender individuals choosing which restroom to use, or to oppose that portion of the ordinance altogether.
The LGBT movement’s recent success in the courtroom, and the routine silence from conservatives, emboldened the City of Houston to take this unprecedented step and subpoena sermons.
Homosexuals have filed and won lawsuits against Christian vendors in the wedding industry, and these lawsuits have devastated the Christians involved and drained their bank accounts. Bullying and intimidation have brought success in the past, so why not test-drive more extreme tactics? Obsessed with the Tea Party, the mainstream media never takes the time to criticize the militant and fascist style of radicals within the Democratic Party.
Finally, as during the Phil Robertson scandal, pushback was swift and fierce, but Christians should be doing more to stand up to extremists. Without resistance, these political maneuvers go unchallenged. As faithful, religious Americans are declining in number and losing the culture war, inclusiveness and political correctness trump religious liberty.
Democrats accuse Republicans of conspiring to suppress voter turnout, but it is THEIR party who bypasses voters through either President Obama’s executive actions on the national level or dismissed petitions on the local level. Also, Democrats rarely care about the status of registered voters until it threatens to undermine their agenda. (One alleged issue with petition involved signatures from non-registered Houston voters).
Perhaps the most troubling part of all is the willingness of Democrats to go along with party leaders who violate the rights of others through intimidation. Democrats support each other, no matter how extreme their party has become.
It’s time for Democrats to examine their OWN party instead of the Tea Party.
Photo credit. www.content.time.com
