Bake a cake as fast as you can.… because tomorrow you might not be allowed to.
Closing your store after being sued, harassed and threatened is now the “price” you may pay for actually exercising your religious freedom in America. But that’s okay, I guess. After all, everything is about jobs and the economy.
Oh wait, you mean closing a store is also about jobs and the economy? 
The rhetorical rubbish spewed by the secular left that all homosexuals are seeking is “marriage equality” has been disposed of over the last year as it has become all too clear that the real goal is nothing less than complete submission to their belief system. The naiveté of those who continue to believe the left’s lie is putting religious liberty and free enterprise at risk across the country and, unfortunately, the evangelical church continues to remain extraordinarily silent in the face of assault, choosing instead to either hide or capitulate.
The story of the Oregon baker, Sweet Cakes By Melissa, is just the latest example of the bullying tactics of the secular left. And again those using threat and intimidation got their way, and through threat and intimidation they’ll continue to operate as long as it’s successful. And when elected officials and courts side with them, why not? Just last week, the New Mexico state Supreme Court ruled against a wedding photographer who refused to photograph a lesbian commitment ceremony, saying that giving up religious convictions is the “price of citizenship.” Funny, I thought respecting one’s constitutionally protected right to free exercise of faith in the public square was the “price of citizenship.”
In San Antonio, Texas, the City Council is threatening to criminalize free speech and religious exercise through ordinance, literally saying that words critical of homosexual behavior are illegal. In Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky and other states Christians are being sued or investigated by government entities for simply putting their faith to practice in their business decisions.
Of course, it’s easy for some politicians to ignore these events and hide behind the “it’s all about the economy” rhetoric so they don’t have to stand up to what promises to be vicious and media-assisted attack from the secular left, all the while begging those who are the targets of the current assault for their vote. As anyone who has stood for truth knows, the secular left’s attacks will be vile and hateful. Not something most campaign consultants have the stomach to stand up to.
Anyone who doesn’t believe that our First Amendment rights to free speech and free exercise of our faith aren’t under direct attack is simply not paying attention. What seemed impossible not that long ago is happening all over our nation. When we warned just a fefw years ago that this was the logical conclusion to same-sex marriage the secular left scoffed at the notion and the media dismissed it as inflammatory, but it’s all coming true. Christians are being told they must choose between their beliefs or participating in the marketplace.
We keep hearing that the “conservative base” in Virginia is unmotivated for this year’s election cycle. But the fact is that Virginia is next in line for what’s happening in New Mexico and Oregon and Kentucky and Texas if Virginians don’t elect people to office who are willing to fight for and defend Constitutional liberty regardless of the harassment and ridicule they’ll take from the editorial pages and secular left.
The base better get motivated soon, because the other side’s base is already at work, and its winning.
As Vice President of Policy and Communications for The Family Foundation, Chris is responsible for the development and implementation of the organization’s government relations, public policy and public relations strategies. He is also responsible for all aspects of media relations, including messaging and promoting media coverage of The Family Foundation’s issues and activities.
