Knowing that polls show conservatives more concerned about religious freedom than marriage or equality for sexual minorities, Focus on the Family tonight repeated its well-worn protest against religious freedom and the plain truth.
Focus contended that conservative Christians cannot enjoy religious freedom unless they withhold religious freedom from non-heterosexual workers.
For some reason, Focus considers its “digital media director,” Stuart Shepard, an expert on Congressional legislation and federal antidiscrimination law. Many people remember Shepard not as a lawyer or civil-rights champion (he’s anything but), but rather as the Focus dude who prayed for “rain of Biblical proportions” at the Obama inauguration.
Anyhow, Shepard said that any law respecting the economic and religious freedom of LGBT workers (including people of faith) by protecting them from discrimination would “impose a substantial and crippling burden on religious organizations.”
Shepard neglected to tell Focus readers that the proposed Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) fully exempts non-profit religious organizations — and that many religious organizations tolerate or affirm their LGBT employees.
Shepard also neglected to explain why Focus does not oppose existing laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of chosen religious identities such as Islam or Buddhism.
Focus on the Family’s selective opposition to religious freedom is sure to win donations, if nothing else, from people who don’t think too hard about silly matters such as, you know, liberty and constitutional equality and all that stuff.
So, Focus on the Family has turned to “Rain Man” to talk about the supposed impact. It is amazing how these dire predictions did not come true in the states where these laws already exist.
I’m always amazed how disrespectful Focus on the Family is to their members. They must really think they are stupid.
That’s because in general Focus on the Family’s members ARE that stupid.
Radical anti-gay activists are successful by taking what they are doing, denying that they are doing it, projecting it on others and condemning others for doing it. For example, they want to take away the religious freedom of the thousands and thousands of pro-equality Americans and churches which support gay citizens. By not allowing gay taxpayers to marry, FOF infringes on the religious liberty of those couples and the churches that want to marry them. However, they deny that, project it on others and blame others for infringing on FOF’s religious freedom. They think this creates a smokescreen to hide their dirty deeds, but people are starting to catch on.