| The following was taken from an email from North American Religious Liberty Association (NARLA): June 2016 Update:
According to a June 22 legislative update from the Church State Council(the religious liberty ministry of the Pacific Union Conference),on Tuesday, June 21, SB 1146 passed from Assembly Higher Education Committee to the Judiciary with an 8 to 2 vote.
For those who have not been following this legislative struggle, SB 1146 incorporates a blatant attack on the right of religious colleges and universities to BE religious.It does this by eliminating the right of such institutions to "discriminate" on the basis of religion. In practice, this means that religious institutions are not allowed to be religious, or to practice their faith, without risking multiple lawsuits challenging their religious practices as discriminatory or harassing. It also means that such institutions will have to opt out of the Cal Grant program, depriving students who rely on such funding to have the option of choosing to attend a religious college.
Earlier this week North American Division president Dan Jackson issued a special prayer request regarding the legislation. He urged church members to activate their prayer chains and "pray that God will open the hearts of legislators in the State of California to His will as they deliberate proposed Bill 1146 on discrimination. Should this Bill pass there could be very serious consequences for our institutions of higher learning and all religious, faith based, institutions in that state."
According to the Church State Council's publication The Liberty Bell, the restriction on the religious freedom of religious colleges and universities is completely unnecessary to the core provision of the bill - a disclosure rule requiring religious colleges that file exemptions from Federal Title IX to inform prospective students and others of their policies regarding LGBTQ.
The Next Step: The California State Assembly's Judiciary Committee will hear SB 1146 on Tuesday, June 28.If you are a California resident, please join us in sending a very clear message that people care about their religious colleges and universities. How can you help? Send emails to the Judiciary Committee members (listed here), sharing you name, city you live in, and that you oppose SB 1146 due to the unintended consequences for students and the state.
For those who live outside of California, please join our prayer warriors in asking for God's guiding spirit on those making decisions about this potentially impactful piece of legislation.
For additional information, please contact the Church State Council at (916) 446-2552. |
