Supreme Court Redefines “Sex” to Mean Gender Identity
This is very bad news from the U.S. Supreme Court. CTV has always stood against judicial activism at all levels. The Courts are not tasked with the duty to write that laws, which is exactly what has been done in this decision.
From the linked article: “Redefining “sex” to mean “gender identity” creates chaos, with widespread consequences for everyone.
· It undermines dignity, privacy, and equal opportunities for women.
· It could compel professionals from all walks of life to refer to colleagues with pronouns and other sex-specific terms according to gender identity rather than biology.
· It puts employers like Tom in difficult positions—requiring them to treat men who believe themselves to be women as if they are in fact women, even if that results in violating the bodily privacy rights of other employees.
The bottom line is that ignoring biological reality in our laws threatens our freedoms of conscience, religion, and speech.” See the 172 page opinion here. If, however, you want to read a common-sense response to this outrageous decision, read the dissent written by Justice Alito starting on page 39. Another great article on this topic can be found here.
New Trump Administration Policy Restores Protection to Biological Women in Homeless Shelters
"The Department of Housing and Urban Development will soon propose a rule to undo an Obama-era regulation that required single-sex homeless shelters to admit individuals on the basis of self-professed gender identity rather than biological sex.
The new rule would reverse that requirement, permitting each shelter to determine its policy regarding whether it will admit individuals whose biological sex does not align with the one typically admitted."
CTV believes this is an important step towards providing physical protection to the most vulnerable and applauds the efforts of this administration to respect biological gender. Read more.
MI Governor pushes to make LGBT community a specially protected class under the Elliot Larson Civil Rights Act
Earlier this week, the governor stated, "...While we have made progress, we still have so much work to do. That means expanding the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to protect Michiganders based on sexual orientation and gender identity, because in the year 2020, nobody should be fired from their job or evicted from their home based on who they love, or how they identify."
Nowhere in her proclamation does she advocate protection of religious conscience or make any concessions for churches, religious schools, or other institutions whose core teachings are morally incongruent with such alternative lifestyles. Read the governor's proclimation here.
Judge allows LGBT ballot Initiative more time
CTV has been keeping you up to date a LGBT Ballot Initiative that is seeking to create a special protections under the state civil rights law through voter referendum. Last month, the group filed a lawsuit asking for more time to get signatures, and to be allowed to have only a fraction of the signatures required by another other group, because of COVID-19.
Earlier this week, a judge ruled and upheld the number of signatures required, but extended the time the group has by 69 days.
CTV remains concerned that this ballot initiative will result in reverse discrimination and fears that it may lead to religious persecution for those with sincerely held religious views that preclude them from embracing alternative lifestyles. Read more about this ruling here.
