Tag Archives: Civil Rights

Aug 07

Update to Judge Vaughn Walker’s Ruling over Prop 8

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I didn’t know this when I wrote about it on Thursday, but Vaughn R. Walker is openly gay (maybe this is proof that I’m not looking for ammo, cause I would have mentioned that). Think about this: The most costly campaign on either side over a state proposition, EVER. After all of the drama over Prop 22 being overturned, Prop 8 being voted in by the majority of California voters, and now an openly gay judge gets the case?  Can anyone say bias? He personally has something to gain by overturning Proposition 8.

Aug 05

California Prop 8 In Danger

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This morning is cloudy as I write, and how appropriate it is that the sun is not shining. Yesterday a very dark thing happened in California. Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker from (surprise surprise) San Francisco overturned Proposition 8.

Prop 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license…Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite sex couples are superior to same-sex couples.

Didn’t We Vote For This… TWICE?

In 2000 I had just turned 18 and in my first election I proudly (and biblically) voted yes for this short sentence to be added to the Family Code: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” Proposition 22 only stated as law what the vast majority of Americans have held to be true in the past, marriage is a union between two things, and those things are a man and a woman. That was overturned, despite the will of the voters. For 8 years we enjoyed a statute which defined marriage biologically and biblically.

When  the courts overturned Prop 22 California voted for an amendment to the California Constitution to the same effect. I know we aren’t supposed to quote Wikipedia, but this is a safe one:

Proposition 8 was a California ballot proposition that sought to change the California Constitution to add a new section (7.5) to Article I, that would read: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

This time it was more than a statute, it was an amendment to the very constitution which was used to overturn Prop 22. A statute can be overturned if it is found to be inconsistent with the state constitution. This point is good, by the way. As a Christian and as an American I want my laws to be consistent with one another. Laws can not be enforced fairly if they contradict one another. With Prop 8 now adding a familiar phrase to the California Constitution the voters had spoken again. They told us that a biblical/common sense definition of marriage was unconstitutional, so we changed the constitution. Continue reading →

Jul 29

VIDEO: David and Nabeel Return To Dearborn

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Acts 17 Enters the Dearborn Arab Festival (PART ONE)


David and Nabeel discuss what happened last year (2009) and why they came back to Dearborn. This video was shot less than 3 hours before their false arrest by Dearborn Police.

Acts 17 Enters the Dearborn Arab Festival (PART TWO)


This video is a continuation of the first one.

Jul 28

Venn Diagram: Acts 17 in the Dearborn Saga

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Let’s talk logic. I’m no logician but I’ve read a few books and taken a class here or there. The Dearborn Four were arrested at the Arabic Festival in Dearborn Michigan last month. It is true that there were other Christians at the festival. It is true that some of them were not harassed (Josh McDowell was happy to point this out). Pop quiz, does it logically follow that if some Christians were not harassed that all Christians were not harassed?  Answer: no

Well, does it follow that if some Christians were harassed that all Christians were harassed? Answer: no

Factor in to my colloquial musing the video cameras and willingness to demand the constitution be applied and you get the following:

David Wood was kind enough to use my diagram on Answering Muslims to help illustrate the point that one of the marks of injustice is not always the mis-treatment of an entire class or group; a sub-class being alienated and treated differently than their peers is also a violation of justice. No one is claiming that all Christians were harassed at the Dearborn Arab Festival. If you have heard that I would adjure you to watch the videos and read the blogs carefully. See if that claim is actually being made by the victims, or if it is being made up by their critics.

Jul 28

Photos from the Free Speech Rally in Dearborn, MI

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Niraj Warikoo of the Detroit Free Press talks to Majed A. Moughni on the steps of City Hall in Dearborn on Monday morning, July 26, 2010.

The Detroit Free Press has put some photos of their rally in Dearborn over the breach of the constitutional right of free speech which occurred last month.

The photos are available here.

Jul 26

Student Told To Deny Christianity Or Face Expulsion

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Via World Net Daily:

24 year old Jen Keeton was told by Richard Deaner, Paulette Schenck, and Mary Jane Anderson-Wiley (pictured right) of Augusta State University that she must deny her Christian beliefs about homosexuality and attend a Gay Pride parade in order to remain a student at their institution.

From the article:

University “faculty have promised to expel Miss Keeton from the graduate Counselor Education program, not because of poor academic showing or demonstrated deficiencies in clinical performance, but simply because she has communicated both inside and outside the classroom that she holds to Christian ethical convictions on matters of human sexuality and gender identity,” the law firm explained.

School spokeswoman Kathy Schose today declined to address the allegations in the case but agreed to discuss the counselor teaching program in general.

She cited the American Counseling Association’s code of ethics and said students would be required to adopt its provisions.

“There is a code of ethics that govern counselors,” she said. “They have to abide by the code of the profession.”

Ethics codes generally govern behavior, and Schose denied the school was attempting to alter any student’s beliefs or moral values.

But the lawsuit specifically charges the faculty members targeted Keeton’s biblically based belief system and values, not her behavior regarding the treatment of any clients, which had not yet happened.

Jen Keeton (pictured left) will become another victim of a pro-homosexual agenda that has been spreading for many years if they lose in court. Notice the unwillingness of Deaner, Schenck, and Anderson-Wiley to even consider the possibility that Keeton’s biblical beliefs are correct. They come to their conclusion and graduation from their counseling program is not withheld for not doing the work, rather, it is withheld for not agreeing with them on an issue which is closed for discussion.

Jul 26

David Wood and Dearborn Mayor John O’Reilly on The Bob Siegel Show

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Bob Siegel has uploaded yesterday’s hour long show to his ‘Radio Archives‘ section. To access the show you can listen on this page. Bob Siegel comments:

Mayor John B. O’Reilly of Dearborn, Michigan came on the radio program, along with Christian Apologist, David Wood, one of four Christians arrested while sharing the gospel with Muslims. They each offered contrasting interpretations of these events that are causing controversy all over the internet. This interview is rare and stimulating for two reasons:

1) It aired without commercial interruptions, non stop for about 45 minutes.

2) Both men talked respectfully and neither cut off the other. There was no cross talk. As a result, the audience is left with an excellent conversation with which to make up their own minds about the facts.

If you listen to the show on Mr. Siegel’s website, the actual interview starts about at about 12:55 in his recording. It turns out my recording from yesterday only missed a few minutes of the interview. Once the show has buffered on his site you can skip ahead to hear the interview. You can also download the MP3 directly

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

(right-click, hit ‘Save Link As…’).

David Wood has posted his reflections of the show on his blog Answering Muslims. He asks some questions which bear repeating:

(1) The mayor continues to refer to “free speech zones.” But as Nabeel pointed out, in the very cases the mayor appeals to, the courts ruled that people are free to walk around holding discussions (as we were doing). Does the mayor have a court case where a court ruled that people are not allowed to hold a dialogue in public?

(2) The mayor acknowledges that security last year was poorly trained, and that additional training was needed for this year. But the point of our video last year was that security was harassing Christians and attacking us for asking a question at a booth. If the mayor admits that they behaved poorly due to insufficient training, why demonize us for making this public? The fact is that the additional training was required specifically because we drew attention to injustice. Shouldn’t the mayor be thanking us for making the festival a better, safer place?
Continue reading →