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| Michael Brown tells lies about a CA resolution. |
From Right Wing Watch:
About two weeks ago, Right Wing Watch noted that Religious Right groups and Christian media outlets were lying about a nonbinding resolution that was nearing a vote in the California General Assembly. They’re still at it.
The resolution, known as ACR-99, calls upon educators and religious leaders to approach LGBTQ issues with love, compassion and knowledge of the potential for harm caused by conversion therapy, and calls upon Californians “to embrace the individual and social benefits of family and community acceptance.” It also calls upon the people and institutions of California “to model equitable treatment of all people of the state.”
The resolution was introduced by state legislator Evan Low, who last year withdrew legislation that would have declared conversion therapy fraudulent after meeting with Christian leaders who portrayed that bill as a threat to religious liberty; some falsely claimed that it would have banned the Bible.
People of good will can have and express honest disagreement about whether it’s a good idea for legislators to encourage, even in a non-binding way, religious leaders to take any particular approach to pastoral counseling. But that’s not the same as fanning fears of religious persecution by claiming that the resolution amounts to “tyranny” and forces pastors to preach a certain way. In reality, the non-binding resolution does not force anyone to do—or not do—anything.
After the resolution passed the assembly last week, the Christian Broadcasting Network blared out a story declaring, “The Church is Under Attack,” once again misrepresenting the impact of the non-binding resolution with a headline that reads: “CA Lawmakers Pass Measure Forcing Pastors to Embrace LGBT Ideology.”
Pastor and anti-LGBTQ activist Michael Brown has urged California pastors to stand up to “government tyranny” by opposing the “draconian” resolution, which he wrote “would dictate what pastors preach from the pulpit.”
Brown continues to lie about the resolution by claiming that it would ban pastors from calling homosexuality sinful and would also force them to "affirm same-sex relationships and gender identity." Not to be outdone by Brown, the American Family Association's fake news site, One News Now conducted a poll implying that the resolution would outlaw "Bible-based conversion therapy."
The following are the results:
Again, the resolution is nonbinding and won't be enforced as law should it passes. But why should Brown or the anti-LGBTQ industry let facts interrupt their latest performance as Joan of Arc being burned at the stake?
