Churches Tell Town Council: Leave Our Beliefs Alone
A lawsuit has been filed against the city of De Pere, Wisconsin, over a new nondiscrimination ordinance providing special protections for same-sex duos that purports to “control aspects of religious employment, facility use, and even advertising.”
It’s a rule that city officials adopted just months ago, but the lawsuit explains that they not only neglected to include exemptions for churches and other religious groups whose faith forbids same-sex relationships, they specifically refused to offer assurances religious beliefs would be protected.
The case on behalf of Hope Lutheran, Crosspoint, Destiny, St. Mark Lutheran and Christ the Rock churches, as well as a local radio station, by Pacific Justice Institute and Heidi Miller of Wauwatosa challenges the requirements the city had scheduled to implement March 1.
“The ordinance bars discrimination, broadly defining that term as well as public accommodation and employment decisions in ways that would severely curtail religious exercise,” the legal team said. “The only exception for religious entities like the churches and radio station is for hiring people of the same religion.”
The lawyers insisted that even that exception is faulty, since it would “afford no ability to make employment decisions if a pastor, other employee, or applicant acts inconsistently with church teaching but continues to claim to be of the same faith or denomination.” (Read more from “Churches Tell Town Council: Leave Our Beliefs Alone” HERE)
Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.
