Victory for Prayer, Religious Liberty

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Legislative Prayer

This week, the United States Supreme Court in Town of Greece v. Galloway reaffirmed the constitutionality of prayer before governmental meetings, in a 5-4 decision. Texas Values applauds the U.S. Supreme Court for upholding the constitutionality of legislative prayer and affirming the continued right of Americans to pray freely in the public square. In response to this ruling, Texas Values president and attorney Jonathan Saenz released the following statement:

“The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld our most foundational freedom – the right to exercise our religion freely. This decision sends a clear message that Americans have the right to exercise their faith in the public square, including when publicly reciting a prayer before a government body. While it is concerning that only five of the nine justices supported this basic constitutional right, the majority ruling is a tremendous victory for Americans of faith and for our more than 200 year-old tradition of legislative prayers. This win for religious liberty will help turn the tide against the growing efforts to eradicate religious expression, particularly of Christians, from the public square.”

Texas Values has been actively involved in protecting the religious liberty rights of Texans to express their faith in the public square, including defending legislative prayers. Texas Values helped successfully defend Hays County against threats from the Americans United for Separation of Church and State that sought to ban legislative prayers. Read more and read the decision.

Houston LGBT Ordinance Delayed, Megachurch Announces Opposition

On Wednesday, after numerous Houston council members expressed serious concerns and proposed numerous amendments to Mayor Annise Parker’s proposed wide-reaching LGBT ordinance, the Houston City Council delayed the vote on the divisive ordinance by one week. Concerns have been raised for weeks about the impact the ordinance would have for public safety in bathrooms, on religious organizations and churches, and the wide-reaching impact on private business owners. Mayor Parker’s original plan was to fast track the ordinance into law with a final vote this week. Read anaylsis of ordinance.

The decision to delay the vote is a rejection of Mayor’s Parker attempt to ram this dangerous ordinance through without proper scrutiny and the opposition to this proposal only continues to grow. Pastor Ed Young of Houston’s Second Baptist Church, one of the largest churches in the country, has now spoken out strongly against the ordinance calling it a “staggering moral issue” and pointing out the hypocrisy of the homosexual community that “wants us to tolerate their behavior and beliefs but does not want to give the rest of us that same courtesy.” Find out more about this issue at the Texas Values Action site here.

Following Texas’ Lead in Protecting Christmas

Recently, Louisiana and South Carolina have joined a growing number of states looking to follow Texas’ lead in protecting Christmas and the religious liberty rights of students. Louisiana and South Carolina have now passed ‘Merry Christmas’ Bills in their respective state houses. Read more about the efforts in other states here and find out more about Texas’ Merry Christmas Law at merrychristmastexas.com.

Internships Available for Texas Values in Austin

Do you share our passion for securing religious liberty, protecting marriage and family, and defending the unborn? The Texas Values team is seeking motivated individuals to intern and volunteer in our Austin office for our growing efforts. Interns must have a passion to promote biblical values and have a desire to learn more about public policy and the political process in Texas. Find out more.