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This week's top stories from The Family Beacon:
Supreme Court Allows Nevada to Favor Casinos Over Churches
In a surprise decision last Friday night, the Supreme Court denied a Nevada church’s petition to block enforcement of Governor Steve Sisolak’s restrictions limiting religious gatherings to 50 people, regardless of the size of the building. Under Governor Sisolak’s orders, casinos, restaurants, and movie theaters are allowed to open at 50% capacity, rather than being limited to a strict number limit the way that churches are. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court allowed Nevada to continue to discriminate against churches by holding them to stricter limits than secular gatherings, thus communicating that to both Nevada and the majority on the Supreme Court, entertainment is more essential than the free exercise of religion.
In response to the Court’s refusal to block enforcement of Governor Sisolak’s orders, Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel David Cortman said,
The First Amendment requires the government to treat religious organizations, at a minimum, the same as comparable secular organizations. When the government treats churches worse than casinos, gyms, and indoor amusement parks in its COVID-19 response, it clearly violates the Constitution. As Justice Alito noted, ‘The Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion. It says nothing about the freedom to play craps or blackjack, to feed tokens into a slot machine, or to engage in any other game of chance.’
Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley had requested to be allowed to hold services for 90 people, which would have been roughly 50% their fire-code capacity. By denying their petition, the court favored gambling—an activity that is not protected by the Constitution—over the First Amendment right to free exercise of religion. In his dissent, Justice Kavanaugh pointed out that, while Nevada has a compelling interest in combating the spread of COVID-19 in order to protect the health of its citizens, “it does not have a persuasive public health reason for treating churches differently from restaurants, bars, casinos, and gyms.” States are navigating the challenges of reopening amid a pandemic, but that does not mean that they get to attack religious freedom by holding churches to a different standard than everyone else. If casinos are allowed to open at 50% capacity, churches should also be allowed to do so. As Justice Gorsuch put it, “there is no world in which the Constitution permits Nevada to favor Caesars Palace over Calvary Chapel.”
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Proposed Rule Would Protect Vulnerable Women
The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently announced a proposed rule that would protect the safety and privacy of women in homeless shelters. Under the Obama administration, a rule was put in place that would require shelters to accommodate people on the basis of their gender identity, rather than their biological sex. The current proposal rolls back that requirement and allows shelters to make admittance decisions on the basis of biological sex. Single-sex shelters offer women who have been abused, trafficked, or raped a safe place to stay, and this proposed rule would allow them to continue to care for the safety and well-being of women. HUD Secretary Ben Carson also pointed out that the rule change allows religious shelters to operate in accordance with their beliefs.
In 2018, an Anchorage, Alaska women’s shelter was taken to court for choosing not to admit a man who identified as a woman. Saying that shelters must allow biological males to share intimate spaces with vulnerable women prevents shelters from carrying out their purpose of offering a safe place to women. Writing at The Daily Citizen, Jeff Johnston notes,
Of course, not all transgender-identified individuals threaten women. But activist groups like the ACLU and NCTE refuse to acknowledge that women have been harmed in sex-segregated facilities – by men who claim to be women. Liberty Counsel, a Christian legal aid group, compiled a list of 79 such incidents between 2006 and 2017.
[Read the whole piece at The Family Beacon]
Early voting for August 11 Primary Elections is now open!
Primary elections are on August 11, and early voting has now started! You can see who is running in your area by clicking HERE, and you can get information on absentee primary voting by clicking HERE.
Annual Dinner Tickets are Selling Fast: Reserve yours today!
We're so excited for Get in the Game: Fighting for Life and Dignity! on September 17th with pro-life superstar Abby Johnson! We're working to ensure that our event is safe for all our guests to attend, so that means fewer tickets than usual, and 50% of them are already sold!
So register today for an unforgettable night of fun, inspiration, and fellowship! Discounted tickets available for young people and pastors!
Educating and Equipping Parents on the Transgender Trend
Get Your Copy of the Minnesota Parent Resource Guide! The Parent Resource Guide sheds light on the consequences transgender ideas have on kids' lives, while equipping parents to play a positive role in creating a truly welcoming school community.
Responding to the transgender trend with truth and compassion starts with the Parent Resource Guide. Get your copy HERE today and invite a friend to do the same! Click to order your copy today:
Support MFC When You Shop Online - now on mobile!
Did you know that when you shop with Amazon Smile, Amazon makes a donation to Minnesota Family Institute at no cost to you? This is one of the easiest ways to support our mission of advancing life, family, and religious freedom in Minnesota! Now available in Amazon's mobile app!
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strong families and communities through Christ. We are grateful for your partnership with us in prayer, legislative involvement and generous donations.
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