HomeMy WebLinkAboutNon-Discrimination Ordinance Public Comment from Richard Bennett 2-14From:Richard Bennett
To:Jeff Krauss; Chris Mehl; Cyndy Andrus; Carson Taylor; I-Ho Pomeroy
Cc:Agenda
Subject:Bozeman Non-discrimination ordinance
Date:Sunday, February 09, 2014 11:58:13 PM
Attachments:ADF_Kansas churches mandated to rent to same-sex couples_FAQ.pdfADF_Kansas churches mandated to rent to same-sex couples.pdf
Importance:High
Mayor Krauss and City Commissioners,
I am writing to urge you to reject the change to Bozeman’s non-discrimination law that adds sexual
orientation, gender identity, and gender expression as protected classes.
In addition to the constitutional and public safety consequences that you should consider before
adopting this ordinance, you should be aware that this movement in Montana to have cities adopt
these ordinances is part of a national movement called the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. I
have attached an FAQ document from the Hutchinson, Kansas Human Relations Commission that
documents the extent of this national movement effort of getting explicitly transgender-inclusive
non-discrimination laws adopted in jurisdictions throughout the United State (see last page). You
will notice Missoula, Montana is on this list.
You should be rightly concerned about a national group coming into Bozeman to lobby the citizens’
elected representatives to adopt a non-discrimination ordinance that will have far-reaching negative
consequences to Bozeman’s religious organizations, private and public schools, and private
businesses. I encourage you to study this document, and the attached related article from Alliance
Defending Freedom, to understand as fully as possible how all of Bozeman’s institutions will be
negatively impacted.
If you have any questions or wish to discuss this matter further, please feel free to contact me.
Thank you for your service to the citizens of Bozeman.
Best regards,
Richard W. Bennett
1612 West Olive, #5
Bozeman, MT 59715
Tel: 406.582.8230
Mailto:rwbennett@truevine.net
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me.” John 14:6 NIV
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Churches In Kansas May Be Mandated To Rent Their Facilities For Same-Sex “Marriage”
Ceremonies
Posted onMay 8th, 2012 Culture, Marriage, Religious Freedom | 5 Comments
We seem to be in an age of increasing government mandates that strike at the very core of the
freedom of religion. The HHS Mandate in just one example of government mandates that
disregard freedom of religion. The latest example comes from Hutchinson, Kansas, a small town
northwest of Wichita. If the Hutchinson Human Relations Commission has its way, churches
will be mandated to rent out their facilities for same-sex “marriage” ceremonies.
It started back in November, 2011, when a group called the Kansas Equality Commission asked
Hutchinson to add the terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to its non-discrimination
ordinance. The Mayor asked the Hutchinson Human Relations Commission to study the idea
and report back to the town within 90 days on its findings. The Human Relations Commission
did study the issue and is recommending that the terms be added to the non-discrimination
ordinance. In the process, it put together a document entitled an FAQ sheet. The sheet describes
the practical effect of what would happen if these terms are added to the ordinance.
Some of the more chilling aspects of the change include requiring employers and places of
public accommodation to allow people to use whatever restroom fits their “gender identity” at
the time. The proposed changes define “gender identity” as “a gender-related identity,
appearance, expression or behavior of a person, regardless of the person’s assigned sex at
birth.” What this means is that an employer or a business owner must allow a male to use the
women’s restroom if he has the “appearance” or expresses the “behavior” of a female.
But the proposed change to the ordinance doesn’t stop there. In the FAQ sheet, the Hutchinson
Human Relations Commission states, “For example, if a church has a parish hall that they rent
out to the general public, they could not discriminate against a gay couple who want to rent the
building for a party. If the church only rents the building to their parishioners, they can continue
to do so.” The proposed change in the ordinance would mandate the churches rent out their
facilities for same-sex “marriage” ceremonies or homosexual-themed parties.
Let me state this very simply – if this proposed change happens to the Hutchinson ordinance,
mandating that churches rent their facilities out to people or groups that violate their sincerely
held religious beliefs is patently unconstitutional. And ADF would represent any church that is
faced with such overreach and unconstitutional mandate by the government.
There is a battle raging between sexual liberty and religious freedom and there are those in our
government who believe that in this conflict, religious freedom should always lose. The Church
must remain vigilant and stand to protect the right for it to live according to its religious
beliefs. It is unconstitutional for Hutchinson or any government to mandate conduct that forces a
church to act in violation of its religious beliefs. We hope that Hutchinson will see that the
Constitution already mandates religious freedom and that mandate trumps the one they are
proposing.
Author Erik Stanley - ADF Senior Legal Counsel
ADF Senior Legal Counsel - Church Project