Religious-right activists are now directly attacking the faith of elected city officials in Plano in an increasingly vitriolic campaign to repeal the North Texas city’s new anti-discrimination ordinance. The ordinance, passed in December, bars discrimination against LGBT people in employment, housing and public accommodations. Religious-right activists have been trying for weeks to frighten Plano residents by arguing that the ordinance will endanger […]
TFNEF
Marking Religious Freedom Day: A Lesson for the Religious Right
Today is Religious Freedom Day, marking the anniversary of the passage of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom. Authored by Thomas Jefferson, the statute served as a model for other states. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution also includes the principle of religious freedom protected by the Virginia statute. The statute reads, in part: “Be it enacted by […]
Fear-Mongering in Plano
Religious-right activists have adopted a consistent strategy in trying to stop or repeal city ordinances barring discrimination against LGBT people: use faith to divide and cultivate fear, hate and contempt. The latest example is in Plano, where in December the City Council passed an ordinance barring discrimination against LGBT people in employment, housing and public accommodations. In their […]
Parade of Gun Fanatics at the Texas Capitol
Post by Kory Watkins. This appalling and incredibly offensive video is from the office of Texas state Rep. Poncho Nevárez earlier today, the opening day of the 2015 legislative session in Austin. Issues involving the Second Amendment and gun safety laws aren’t in the Texas Freedom Network’s issue set. But we oppose right-wing fanaticism, including the petulant, […]
Greg Abbott’s Hypocrisy
Texas Gov.-elect Greg Abbott is getting well-deserved criticism for his comments at a conservative forum about city ordinances that ban fracking and disposable plastic bags at stores. Claiming that such measures show that Texas is being “Californianized,” Abbott absurdly argued that they represent intolerable limits on freedom: “That is contrary to my vision for Texas. My vision is one […]
