Christian churches and organizations were horrified when Virginia legislators rammed through one of the most anti-Christian pieces of legislation the South has ever seen.
In Virginia, leftist legislators added “gender identity” to an anti-discrimination law – and its effects on Christians are chilling.
And once you hear what Christians are now forced to do by the government, you’re bound to be horrified.
In 2020, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed the “Virginia Values Act” into law – boasting that Virginia is “the first state in the South to enact comprehensive protections for the LGBTQ community against discrimination in housing, employment, public spaces, and credit applications.”
But what this essentially means is Christian employers will be forced to comply with things that go against their faith in a major way.
This horrific law means even if a church has a policy in place insisting its employees must adopt their standards on marriage and the employee agrees to it, but then later goes against it – there is no recourse.
If the church were to discipline or fire the employee, they could be sued for “discrimination.”
Individual business owners (who happen to be Christian) are also in trouble – such as photographers who won’t photograph same-sex couples based on their religious beliefs.
But Virginia legislators don’t care and consider the “Virginia Values Act” one of their greatest accomplishments.
Challenging the law, Alliance Defending Freedom filed a lawsuit on behalf of several churches, private schools, and even a pro-life pregnancy center.
They rightfully point out serious ways this law harms Christians – subjecting them to choose between paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines or violating their religious convictions.
The Christian Post reported:
“[The Act] puts the Ministries in an impossible position: they must either abandon the religious convictions they were founded upon, or be ready to face investigations, an onerous administrative process, fines up to $100,000 for each violation, unlimited compensatory and punitive damages and attorney-fee awards, and court orders forcing them to engage in actions that would violate their consciences,” stated the suit, in part.
“Even merely posting their religious beliefs on their own websites could subject the Ministries to prosecution and exorbitant fines. These penalties could easily exceed a million dollars, ruin the Ministries financially, and make continuing their Christian missions impossible.”
Sadly, the judge ruled against these faithful brothers and sisters in Christ and sided with the “Virginia Values Act.”
In response, Virginia’s Attorney General, Mark Herring, gleefully boasted how proud he was to stop yet another “legal attack.”
The Christian Post continued:
“Our landmark civil rights protections will remain in place, and Virginia will remain a place that is open and welcoming to all, no matter what you look like, where you come from, how you worship, or who you love,” stated Herring.
“I was proud to support passage of the Virginia Values Act and am so proud of our work to successfully defend the law twice against legal attack.”
To force Christians to violate their sacred religious beliefs is truly horrific.
A person’s faith is an important part of who they are – and Christian organizations should have a right to insist their employees maintain a lifestyle consistent with the faith they proclaim to have.
Sadly, all around the country, Christians continue to be discriminated against by leftist judges and politicians.
We must pray God will convict those who are passing such horrific laws – and convict them to turn to Him.
And we must continue to also pray for our Christian brothers and sisters who are being attacked with laws like the “Virginia Values Act.”
May God grant them wisdom on how to proceed.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” – John 3:16-17
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