The openly lesbian mayor of Houston, Annise Parker, has issued subpoenas for 17 different forms of communication, both public and private, from pastors who oppose her “bathroom bill,” the ordinance that guarantees the unlawful right of men to walk in on your daughter while she’s in the shower at the local Y.
In the process, she has violated every single right enshrined in the First Amendment.
She has violated the right of these pastors to the free exercise of religion, because they are motivated by their sincerely held beliefs about gender differences that come from the Creator God who made us male and female.
She has violated their rights to free speech, since she wants to shut them up. She wants to penalize them for speech they have already uttered. In fact, she wants to throw them in jail, because that’s what happens to people who defy subpoenas.
The right to participate in political debate over important social issues belongs to every single American, including pastors. They do not surrender their free speech rights when they step into the pulpit.
She has violated their right to freedom of the press, since their sermons, columns, letters to the editor and other forms of communications are published in newspapers and in church organs. Freedom of the press does not just belong to newspapers. It is a fundamental right that belongs to every single solitary American, including pastors.
She has violated their right to freedom of assembly and especially, and specifically, their right to petition the government for the redress of grievances. By disallowing a petition with three times the necessary signatures, she has contemptuously swept this right off the table onto the floor where she has ground it to powder with her heel.
When it comes to the Constitution, Mayor Annise Parker is a one-woman wrecking crew.
(Unless otherwise noted, the opinions expressed are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.)
