| With Neil Gorsuch now on the US Supreme Court, as one of its last acts of the current term the Supreme Court decided to accept the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop v Colorado Civil Rights Commission, a critical case that highlights the growing problem of supporters of marriage being discriminated against by government and targeted for harassment and punitive punishment in violation of our constitutional rights.
Jack Phillips is the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, a skilled baker and cake artisan, and a devout Christian. He runs a family business that has thrived in Lakeland, Colorado for nearly 25 years. He’s happily served all clients, and continues to sell baked goods to anyone who seeks them regardless of their religious beliefs, politics or sexual orientation. However, when it comes to applying his artistry and creativity to helping with events and ceremonies that violate his deeply held religious beliefs, he draws the line and declines to personally participate. Contributing his artistry to a gay “wedding” is such a ceremony that Jack cannot in good conscience help with. So when two homosexual men asked him to design a cake for their “wedding” he politely declined. Predictably, the men sued and some months later, after enduring an onslaught of abuse from LGBT activists and a raft of negative publicity, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission determined that Jack was guilty of sexual orientation discrimination, ordered him and his staff to design cakes for gay ceremonies, and further ordered him to undergo a “re-education” program along with filing quarterly “compliance” reports.
NOM is determined to end this type of targeting of people who hold true to the reality that marriage is and always will be the union of one man and one woman. Will you stand with us and help us with a financial contribution so we have the resources to argue for the rights of Jack Phillips and all marriage supporters?
It’s outrageous that not only can LGBT extremists get the judicial elite to impose gay “marriage” on the nation, but that they can get their allies in government to punish anyone who disagrees and refuses to go along with the charade that marriage is anything other than the union of one man and one woman.
Sadly, Jack Phillips is far from the only one who has been subjected to governmental persecution, reputational ruin and the threat of being financially devastated. Countless others have also been targeted by LGBT extremists and their allies in government.
We are going to do everything in our power to put a stop to this, and make this the summer when marriage supporters are protected.
- Conduct a strong public education campaign supporting NOM’s legal team as we prepare to file amicus briefs with the US Supreme Court in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case. The justices of the Supreme Court need to understand the devastation that their ruling redefining marriage has wreaked on the nation.
- Working with allies, organize tens of thousands of Americans to contact Attorney General Jeff Sessions to demand that the Trump administration move forward with a long-promised Executive Order to protect individuals, pastors, churches and nonprofit groups who believe in traditional marriage from punitive actions against them by the government.
- Work with key champions in Congress, including Sen. Mike Lee and Rep. Raul Labrador, to reintroduce the First Amendment Defense Act to make permanent the types of protections that would be contained in an Executive Order and a victory before the Supreme Court. President Trump has already endorsed this type of legislation, but it has not yet been introduced into Congress.
- As part of the public education campaign, we must highlight the utter hate that many on the left have for people who remain firm in their belief that marriage is as God created it – one man and one woman. This includes formally launching our First Freedom Initiative which, among other things, will highlight the animus and dangerous tactics of groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center and the grossly-misnamed Human Rights Campaign.
|
Combined, these four priorities form the backbone of NOM’s work this summer to protect marriage supporters. But to be successful on any one of these undertakings, let alone our full agenda, we need the strong support of every NOM supporter. Will you be with us?
Our team is already hard at work doing the heavy lifting that is required to be successful. We’re preparing additional educational videos and informational pieces, getting ready to launch more petitions to engage Americans, putting the final touches on new policy positions that allied groups can endorse and help us present to Congress and the Trump administration, and conducting rigorous legal research on how and why the constitution protects the rights of people of faith to decline to be involved in something that violates their deeply held beliefs.
All that is required now is your financial support so that we have the resources we need to complete the work that is so important and that can make such a difference, not only for those who are facing persecution like Jack Phillips, but for millions of others who are at risk in the future. Please give generously at this important time.
Thank you for all that you are doing to help us restore marriage and protect marriage supporters.
Faithfully,
   
|
Spewing Truth in the face of Lies 