California Pushes Bill That Appears To Ban Sale Of Bibles
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Article Link | Author: Randy DeSoto
A new California pro-LGBTQ bill that would ban the sale or distribution of materials related to “conversion therapy” easily passed the state’s assembly on Thursday.
CBS News affiliate KOVR reported the final tally was 50-14. Assembly Bill 2943 now heads to the Democrat-controlled Senate.
The bill would make it an unlawful business practice to engage in any “transaction intended to result or that results in the sale or lease of goods or services to any consumer” aimed at “sexual orientation change efforts with an individual.”
Goods would include any books or written materials, while services would encompass counseling individuals seeking to address same-sex attractions.
According to the Los Angeles Times, “One key part of the debate centers on whether Assembly Bill 2943 would stretch beyond businesses that charge for (conversion) programs and extend to printed documents, even Bibles.”
The Bible clearly teaches that homosexual conduct is a sin and instructs Christians to abstain from it.
The Apostle Paul records that people he ministered to “were” homosexuals among other types of sinners, but they were transformed by the Spirit of God — through the renewing of their minds — into their new identities as born again children of God.
The Times reported that an analysis by the Assembly Judiciary Committee says the bill would apply only to services that purport to change a person’s sexual orientation and are offered “on a commercial basis, as well as the advertising and offering of such services.”
However, Randy Thomasson with SaveCalifornia.com told CBN News that the bill’s actual language is very broad and can easily be brought to bear on Christian ministries.
“So, this is a pastor speaking, you pay a ticket to hear him speak. He speaks about overcoming same-sex desires. Hey, that could be outlawed. A church sells a book about overcoming same-sex desires. There’s a sale, there’s a transaction, that could be banned,” Thomasson said.
“This is very expansive, very tyrannical and absolutely squashing free speech, religious freedom and basic choice of people. This is an anti-freedom, anti-American bill,” he added.
A basic freedom taken is the ability to seek the treatment of one’s own choice.
