Posted on 10/15/2014 9:52:12 AM PDT by LeoMcNeil
Five pastors in the City of Houston have been hit with a subpoena demanding copies of sermons and other pastoral communications. These pastors apparently oppose a City Ordinance which allows men to go into the ladies restroom and vice versa. A petition drive was launched against the “non-discrimination” ordinance, which over 50,000 residents signed. The City claimed there were “irregularities” in the collection of signatures and refused to put the issue on the ballot. As such a lawsuit was filed against the city, which then turned around and issued subpoenas to these pastors. Interestingly none of the pastors are parties to the lawsuit. This is an egregious attempt to chill free speech and the free exercise of religion.
Discovery during a lawsuit is generally a pretty broad matter. Anything that could potentially lead to the admission of evidence into the record is discoverable. However, there is no legitimate reason to demand non-party pastors provide the city with sermons and pastoral communications. While these pastors no doubt oppose Houston’s absurd, California style non-discrimination ordinance, opposition to an immoral ordinance ought not subject these pastors to the government trolling their sermons and communications. We still live in a free society, pastors are entitled to have their political communications kept confidential. Especially so when they are not parties to a lawsuit. Even more so their sermons. What exactly does the city think they will discover and then admit into evidence at trial if they receive these sermons? The issue in the lawsuit is whether there were irregularities in the collection of signatures. That some pastors oppose homosexuality and the at issue ordinance wouldn’t even be admissible into evidence.
As a practical matter most churches post their sermons online. Sermon Audio and church websites often have years worth of sermons for most of the pastors in the country. Even the smallest churches can find a wide audience online. The City of Houston knows exactly what it’s after, odds are they know the sermons were either taken offline or never put there in the first place. They’re trying to harass these pastors and chill their free speech. The issue isn’t so much whether what they said becomes public or not. The issue is that the city wants to use those sermons. For all the left likes to cry separation of church and state, they appear to be very silent now that the state wants to get involved in monitoring church affairs. A prayer at the city counsel meeting is cause for outraged protest on the left, the city monitoring sermons is met with a shoulder shrug if not a cheer.
We’ve reached a new moral low in this country. It’s bad enough that marriage has been redefined to suit sexual perverts. Now we have cities declaring that men’s and women’s restrooms are discriminatory, creating laws banning such “discrimination.” If a pastor disagrees with their absurd, immoral law they’ll slap him with a subpoena meant to chill his speech. Quite frankly, each of these pastors should preach a detailed sermon on Sunday explaining with scripture why homosexual behavior is sin and why this ordinance is evil. Each of the pastors should post their sermon online both in audio form and in text. Let the city do what they will with what’s available online but these pastors should not comply with the subpoena. They should furthermore boldly stand against this evil ordinance, they should stand for the cause of Christ against sin.
The mainstream press isn’t interested in this issue at all. So far, only Fox News has picked this story up. When churches demand law based on Christian rather than secular morality, the mainstream press acts outraged at the “imposition” of morality. When the government tries to harass pastors with subpoenas and tries to otherwise silence them, the press is silent. Of course if anyone dares to suggest there is an active war against Christians in this country the left-wing media dismissively rolls their collective eyes. What’s going on in Houston today is just another example of government attacking not just individual Christians but the church as well. We’re not to the level of outright persecution yet but when a city believes it can monitor sermons we aren’t nearly as far away from persecution as the left would have you believe.
Until Christian patriots are willing to make a stand ala Bundy Ranch, expect more of the same.
Outrageous! Clearly unconstitutional.
Parks & Preachers they’re on a roll.
http://www.stopthemagnet.com/blog/city-houston-first-amendment-advisory
We can’t have any free speech going on out there.
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