Homosexual Advocacy Group’s ‘Blueprint for Positive Change’ Includes Revoking Religious Exemptions
WASHINGTON — The homosexual advocacy group Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has released a self-titled “Blueprint for Positive Change” document that outlines 85 policy recommendations it would like to see under the Biden administration. Included in the items listed are the revocation of religious exemptions put in place by the Trump administration that protect Christian schools, foster and adoption agencies and government contractors.
The organization stated in a press release that the presumed election of Biden and Harris “puts us on a path to move equality forward by advancing policies to improve the lives of millions of LGBTQ people.” It advised that it has already shared its blueprint with Biden’s team as they calculate their policy steps, should Biden indeed take office.
Among its recommendations are that the ban on transgenders in the military be lifted, that openly homosexual or transgender judges, officials and ambassadors be appointed to office, that “conversion therapy” (which Christian groups would also classify as professional Christian counseling for unwanted inclinations) be banned nationwide, and to make it easier for homosexuals to donate blood.
HRC also seeks the repeal of several protections that were put in place for those with religious convictions, which it views as legalized discrimination. Among the items are the revocation of safeguards for health care professionals who decline to personally provide or participate in certain procedures for religious reasons.
The rule affects matters such as conducting abortions and performing sex change-related services, from providing hormonal drugs to operating on women seeking mastectomies and/or hysterectomies for gender identity purposes.
“In January 2018, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) formally published a regulation in coordination with the creation of a new division within the Office of Civil Rights tasked explicitly with enforcing federal conscience and religious liberty laws,” the document states.
“This new division and the accompanying regulation raise serious concerns regarding access to critical care for some of the most vulnerable patients — including those who are LGBTQ. The rule purports to implement existing conscience regulations, but also provides sweeping exemptions for anyone working in a healthcare setting from providing a range of medical services,” it outlines.
HRC desires that the rule, which includes the 2008 Bush Conscience Rule, be rescinded and that Biden’s team “evaluate the efficacy and impact of the separate conscience division within the Office for Civil Rights.”
In regard to education, the organization wants the Department of Education to reinstate the requirement that colleges and universities seek an exemption of federal Title IX rules that govern nondiscrimination basis of sex, and that a list of schools that received the exemption would be made publicly available.
It also seems to state that accreditation entities should be allowed to decline to grant accreditation to schools that are deemed “discriminatory” or do not adhere to an evolutionary worldview.
“Language regarding accreditation of religious institutions of higher education in the Higher Education Opportunity Act could be interpreted to require accrediting bodies to accredit religious institutions that discriminate or that do not meet science based
curricula standards,” the document outlines.
“The Department of Education should issue a regulation clarifying that this provision, which requires accreditation agencies to ‘respect the stated mission’ of religious institutions, does not require the accreditation of religious institutions that do not meet neutral accreditation standards including nondiscrimination policies and scientific curriculum requirements,” it explains.
HRC additionally wants the Biden administration to revoke a waiver granted to a Christian foster and adoption agency in South Carolina who faced a potential loss of its license for only placing children in Christian homes as it works with churches throughout the state.
“By granting that waiver, HHS opened the door to federally funded discrimination justified by religious belief against any number of prospective parents, including single parents, LGBTQ individuals or same-sex couples, parents who may previously have been divorced, interfaith couples, or people of deep faith that happens to be of another religion,” the document states.
“The administration should revoke this waiver immediately and take steps to ensure that discrimination has no place in federally funded foster care and adoption services.”
The organization also seeks the retraction of a proposed rule from the Department of Labor providing religious exemptions for businesses and organizations that contract with the federal government.
“Under the proposed regulation, businesses and organizations receiving taxpayer dollars could present religious belief as a defense to a claim of employment discrimination to Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), which will then not enforce the nondiscrimination provisions. The administration should rescind this proposal and ensure that taxpayer dollars are not used to facilitate discrimination,” it opines.
Read the document in full here.
Proverbs 29:2 states, “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice, but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.”
Jeremiah 5:23-25 laments, “But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone. Neither say they in their heart, ‘Let us now fear the Lord our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in His season; He reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.’ Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.”
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