…they came for your city.
Not to be an alarmist, but over the summer LGBTQ+ activists have been targeting cities in Johnson County to pass sexual orientation and gender identity ordinances (SOGI). These are the types of laws that have been used to target cakebakers, wedding photographers, t-shirt designers, and other business owners across the country. They silence debate and actually compel speech and action.
Cities like Shawnee, Leawood, Lenexa, Olathe, and Overland Park are currently on the target list for groups that want to force residents to agree with their sexual agenda. If you think it won’t affect you just ask Jack Phillips, a normal bakery owner, who has been sued three times for not giving into the demands of Colorado’s radical LGBTQ+ agenda. Or Baronelle Stutsman who owned a flower shop and is defending her right to live out her faith before the Washington Supreme Court for the second time.
These ordinance force women to use intimate spaces, such as bathrooms, alongside biological males in shelters, government buildings, and even some businesses. Some cities have forced women who have been abused to share living spaces in shelters with biological men. They force people in all areas of a community to use pronouns that do not fit the God-given biological identity of an individual.
These are not made up stories. These are real people whose lives have been radically changed by this agenda.
These ordinances claim to make narrow exceptions for religion by exempting religious institutions but how can a preacher preach, or a teacher teach parishioners who cannot take what they learned beyond the four walls of their church. Our faith informs every aspect of our lives – this includes treating people with dignity and respect. However, this doesn’t mean that dignity and respect require us to become complicit in behavior that violates our faith.
Christ is the true definition of love and respect. We can still love and love well without caving to the world’s redefinition of these terms.
If you live in one of the cities being targeted to pass a SOGI – please reach out to your city council members and let them know that you disagree with these policies. If you are in a city that hasn’t been targeted yet, start talking to your network and your local government leaders to warn them about these types of ordinances. This issue is just too important for us not to engage.
I invite you to join me in this battle and be a part of ensuring that all Kansans can live out their faith.
Standing with you,
Brittany Jones
Director of Advocacy