How Gender Identity Laws are Eroding Our Constitutional Freedoms

By Eric Metaxas Back in 2009 my BreakPoint colleague John Stonestreet was in the room so to speak as Chuck Colson was developing the Manhattan Declaration to defend the sanctity of life marriage and religious freedom. John once told me how he totally got why Christians had to stand up for marriage at the time. But in 2009 he wasnt certain we needed a declaration to defend religious freedomwhat was the connection between marriage and religious freedom? Well as John will now tell you Chuck was right. Chuck foresaw a time when Christian beliefs about marriage and sexuality would make us targets in the public squareand that our right to live out those beliefs would come under fire. But what no one including Chuck could see back then was how quickly wed find ourselves in a world in which the observable biological realities that make us male or female would be denounced and deniedin academia in the culture and even in the law. That pure emotion (as Princetons Robert George has said) would replace biological facts. That people would be forced by government to comply with these kinds of personal beliefs and lifestyle choices. And thats exactly where we are. The best example of this is so-called SOGI laws that is Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity laws. As John mentioned on BreakPoint last week SOGI laws create new protected classes of people based on inclination and behavior not race sex or creed. These laws threaten not only religious freedom but freedom of speech and freedom of associationespecially for Christian institutions and individuals. This is why John and I and more than 50 Christian leaders have signed a document to Preserve Americans Constitutional Freedoms from Government Coercion. And its why Im inviting every BreakPoint listener to sign the document as well: Please simply go to ColsonCenter.org/freedom. As the document states creative professionals wedding chapels non-profit organizations ministries serving the needy adoption agencies businesses... religious colleges and even churches have faced threats and legal action under such laws for declining to participate in same-sex wedding ceremonies; for maintaining policies consistent with their guiding principles and for seeking to protect privacy by ensuring persons of the opposite sex do not share showers locker rooms restrooms and other intimate facilities. Now as John mentioned last week some Christians are seeking a middle ground to carve out exceptions to SOGI laws for churches and religious organizations such as universities. But this approach hangs the Christian baker florist or photographer out to drynot to mention Christian lawyers doctors counsellors and professionals of all stripes. As Christians we believe there is no distinction between a secular and sacred vocationthat all work done to the glory of God is sacred. How can we then carve out protections for so-called religious organizations yet leave out everyone else? Theres another problem with this approach: it assumes the good graces of the champions of sexual identity rightsthat theyll embrace compromise now and in the future. And that my friends is alas wishful thinking. Already weve seen legislators try to label churches as places of public accommodation (and therefore not protected from SOGI laws) if they have pot-luck dinners; weve seen them try to distinguish between Christians colleges that train people specifically for ministry as opposed to those Christian colleges that train people to be accountants or English teachers. So friends it is time to take a stand. Im asking you to help Preserve Americans Constitutional Freedoms from Government Coercion. Please come and sign the statement at ColsonCenter.org/freedom. Eric Metaxas is a co-host of BreakPoint Radio and a best-selling author whose biographies childrens books and popular apologetics. Begun by Chuck Colson in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast BreakPoint provides a perspective on todays news and trends via radio interactive media and print. BreakPoint commentaries air daily on more than 1200 outlets with an estimated weekly listening audience of eight million people