Franklin Graham warns Equality Act would be ‘catastrophic’ for Christians if it becomes law
The Equality Act, a bill that would add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as protected classes under federal civil rights law, would be “catastrophic” for Christians and churches if it becomes law, evangelist Franklin Graham warned.
Graham, in a recent op-ed for Decision Magazine, warned that the bill, which was introduced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in March, would grant the same protections afforded to racial minorities and women under the Civil Rights Act to the LGBTQ community, causing significant legal problems for Christians who hold a biblical worldview.
He also noted that if Democrats get control of the Senate and the White House, the bill is likely to become law.
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“The progressive, Democratic-controlled House of Representatives has already passed this atrocious bill, and only the Republican-controlled Senate and the president stand in its way. If the Senate majority changes or if enough Republican senators change their position, it would be up to the president to veto the bill. And if that office were to change hands in 2020, I have little doubt this would become the law of the land,” Graham said.
“This legislation will have catastrophic consequences for competitive sports, along with churches and faith-based nonprofits who would lose all protections to hire people who adhere to their Biblical statements of faith. Christians will be persecuted for their sincerely held beliefs as never before. The clear teachings of the Bible on the sins of homosexuality and abortion will no doubt be considered ‘hate speech.’ It will be a nightmare from which this nation may never recover,” he warned.
He further thanked President Donald Trump for standing up to the LGBTQ agenda last month.
“I want to thank President Donald J. Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for making the decision not to fly the gay flag over our embassies during June in recognition of gay pride month. That is the right decision. The only flag that should fly over our embassies is the flag of the United States of America. The gay pride flag is offensive to Christians and millions of people of other faiths, not only in this country but around the world. The U.S. flag represents our nation—everyone—regardless of race, religion or sexual orientation,” Graham noted.
A recent report from The Heritage Foundation outlines how the Equality Act would impact the lives of Christians and faith-based institutions if it should become law.
Employers and workers, argues the conservative policy organization, would be forced to conform to new sexual norms or lose their businesses and jobs. Hospitals and insurers would also be forced to provide and pay for therapies against any moral or medical objections and politicize medicine by forcing professionals to act against their best medical judgment to provide transition-affirming therapies.
Families, the organization argues, would suffer further harm caused by the politicization of medicine as hormonal and surgical interventions for gender dysphoric children as well as ideological education in schools and other public venues become normalized.
The Equality Act, The Heritage Foundation says, “would ultimately lead to the erasure of women by dismantling sex-specific facilities, sports, and other female-only spaces.”
Many faith-based charities, volunteers, and the populations they serve would also end up suffering.
