Seth Udinski, FISM News
In a win for religious freedom for Christians in America, a city in Indiana has slashed a proposition to ban “conversion therapy.”
On Monday, the city of West Lafayette stopped a proposal that would have banned the practice of speaking against homosexuality, which LGBTQ proponents have decried as “conversion therapy.”
The city’s proposed rule defined conversion therapy as “any practices or treatments that seek to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings towards individuals of the same gender.”
Many Christians are concerned that the cultural definition of gender conversion therapy would in essence prevent them from preaching a biblical sexual ethic. It was Christians who led the fight in keeping this law from coming into existence.
City Councilman David Sanders said,
In order to save the city from the costs and efforts of having to defend itself from that threatened lawsuit, it was better not to have the ordinance, but just have a resolution.
Local pastor Steve Viars helped to keep this proposal from passing. He highlighted the need for Christians to speak up for religious protection and believes laws like this could be passed in other American cities.
I really believe this is ‘coming to a theater near you. The lesson from West Lafayette is that efforts like this can and must be defeated. The principles of individual freedom, parents’ rights, religious liberty, and the separation of church and state are still worth defending.