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1. BREAKING SCOTUS BLOG: "The end of the road for Arlene’s Flowers"

"Three years after the Supreme Court issued a narrow ruling in favor of Jack Phillips, a Colorado baker who refused to make a custom cake for a same-sex wedding because he believed that doing so would violate his religious beliefs, the justices on Friday declined to weigh in on the question that Phillips’ case left unanswered: Does the state violate an artist’s First Amendment right when it requires her to create custom art celebrating a same-sex wedding? This time the question comes to the court in the case of Barronelle Stutzman, a Washington florist and devout Christian who believes in the traditional notion of marriage."

2. NORTH STATE JOURNAL: NCAE president vows to teach Critical Race Theory ‘even if illegal’

"North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) president Tamika Walker Kelly is one of over 4,200 signers of a pledge to 'refuse to lie to young people about U.S. history and current events — regardless of the law.’ The pledge is backed by the Zinn Education Project, named after the controversial academic and avowed socialist, Howard Zinn, whose book A People’s History of the United States has been largely debunked by historians."

For more related to this story, check out the Carolina Journal's "Robinson, Senate leader Berger blast Charlotte schools’ link to Critical Race Theory;" and "Truitt: New analysis shows weaknesses in state’s social studies standards."

3. THE DAILY SIGNAL: Supreme Court Upholds Freedom of Association

"What would it take for the American Civil Liberties Union and the Independent Women’s Law Center, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the Gun Owners of America, and the Human Rights Campaign and the Proposition 8 Legal Defense Fund to be found in the same trench fighting the same opponent? Nothing less than the right to the freedom of association, which the Supreme Court has held is implicit in the First Amendment.

In Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta, the Supreme Court on Thursday held by a 6-3 majority that California violated that right by demanding that charitable organizations disclose their major donors as a condition of fundraising in the state."

4. CAROLINA JOURNAL: Supreme Court’s Arizona voting law ruling could have N.C. implications

"The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld Arizona’s bans against ballot harvesting and out-of-precinct Election Day voting. The 6-3 ruling from the nation’s highest court could have an impact on N.C. election rules moving forward.

State lawmakers are considering potential election law changes in the wake of the 2020 election, which featured multiple election changes tied to the COVID-19 pandemic."

5. JUST THE NEWS: North Carolina measure delaying 2021 local elections becomes law

“Some municipal elections will be delayed this year after a bill that rescheduled the elections to 2022 automatically became law in North Carolina. The COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters delayed the release of the U.S. Census Bureau data used to determine local population counts, officials said. That data was scheduled to be published in spring, but it will not be delivered to states until Sept. 30. Therefore, local governments will not be able to determine voting districts.”

WEEKLY PRAYER: LIFE

LORD, we recognize that you are Sovereign over all creation. We recognize you made man from the dust, and in your mercy, you crowned creation with man and woman made in your image. What a wonder it is that you would bestow upon us this blessing and responsibility! LORD, may we not take this blessing for granted. We pray that this great responsibility and dignity may motivate us to love You, our neighbors, and our families more.

LORD, may we as a culture truly see and believe that children are a blessing from the LORD—born or unborn; able or disabled. All children should have an opportunity to experience the liberty of life. LORD, make us your vehicle to change our culture into one that cherishes and protects life. Keep at the forefront of our minds our responsibilities to respect, cherish, and serve the youngest and oldest in our society.

Finally, LORD, we pray even further for our children. Across our state, country, and world, an entire generation of youth have seen their lives and education ruptured by the pandemic and its closing of schools. Father, as a result so many of these children are not only wounded by the quality of their education, but by a likely onslaught of mental illness brought about by social isolation. LORD, bring them hope and healing as only You can. 

"At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, 'Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: 'Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.'" (Matthew 18:1-6)

Amen

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North Carolina Values Coalition