By Margaret R. McCarthy -
During a special meeting Wednesday night at Christ Church "Crossroads" in Grayslake, Daniel McConchie, Vice President of Government Affairs for Americans United for Life, provided insight into the recent Supreme Court decision on same sex marriage. McConchie shared with the audience, many of whom were pastors of local churches, the challenges that the recent Obergefell vs. Hodges decision lays on religious organizations, as well as business owners that hold religious convictions against same-sex marriage.
For several years, the homosexual lobby has been aggressively seeking out businesses whose owners refused on religious grounds to provide services for their prospective weddings. When refused, the couples sued, citing discrimination based on already existing laws permitting gay marriage.
McConchie cited numerous cases across the country of florists, caterers, wedding chapels, bakers that were singled out for attack. Some were defended successfully, others were fined and/or put out of business.
Freedom of religion and speech, enshrined in our Constitution’s First Amendment, is being subverted in favor of “sexual liberty,” McConchie told the audience. Using language from the Civil Rights crusade, homosexuals have convinced the culture that it is discriminatory, thus wrong, to deny them the right to marry.
The effect of this change in our culture has amounted to the loss of religious freedom and the right to speak the truth as one understands it.
McConchie said, “Does free speech end when someone doesn’t want to hear what you want to say?” Further, “Can you now be compelled to participate in something you object to?”
Here in Illinois, Holy Family Catholic Church in Inverness is faced with a lawsuit over employment discrimination by Colin Collette because he was fired when he married his male partner.
In Illinois, we have had The “Illinois Right of Conscience” one of the strongest protections for religious objections and it was successfully used to protect a Catholic pharmacist from civil penalty when he refused to supply a customer with abortificient drugs. Currently, SB 1564 has been passed and it is before the General Assembly, would weaken those protections.
There is serious talk about removing the tax exempt status of religious institutions if they do not subscribe to the new political correctness. As McConchie stated, while such a move could result in a crushing property tax burden, it would also free up churches to openly endorse candidates for office.
He then turned to the packet provided by the Alliance Defending Freedom entitled, “Protecting Your Ministry” with guidelines for churches and religious institutions on creating mission statements for the institution and all employees. Only those organizations that have specific religious mission statements and biblical reasons for their beliefs have a chance of avoiding lawsuits or winning them. The packet included sample forms for both Catholic and Protestant groups.
As McConchie warned, “You may not be interested in politics, but if you don’t pay attention, politics will roll over you.”
In addition to McConchie's information, John Morales, former sports broadcaster, showed the group a clip from his film, “40,” an educational and inspirational film about abortion which explores the views of both sides of the issue as well as the testimony of women who have terminated their pregnancies.
Anyone wishing to obtain a copy of the film can do so by calling 847-803-4003 or by going to the web site www.the 40film.com.
