There’s nothing Christian about these 19 anti-LGBTQ bills moving through Jeff City

There are 19 odious bills now moving through the Missouri General Assembly that use religious language to oppose the fundamental human rights of the LGBTQ community. The Social Justice Ministry that was established this year at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in downtown Kansas City speaks out on behalf of our faith community to lodge clear opposition to these assaults on the basic rights of our fellow Missourians. Our faith community cannot remain silent when measures such as state Rep. Ben Baker’s House Bills 2043 and 2044 are currently moving through the legislative session.

Baker’s “Adoption Protection Act,” would allow Missouri agencies to cite “sincerely held religious beliefs” as justification for discriminating against LGBTQ families who seek to adopt or foster children. In a state with more than 13,000 children in the foster care system, there remain approximately 1,500 children who need placement in welcoming homes right now. This bill uses the guise of religious freedom to negate these children’s human rights, as well as those of potential foster parents who are willing to offer a loving and safe home to these needy young people.

Baker’s “Parental Oversight of Public Libraries Act,” would blatantly ban books, especially LGBTQ-friendly literature. It would possibly even provide jail time for librarians and yank state funding for libraries that simply enable the free exchange of ideas.

This year has seen a record number of anti-LGBTQ bills filed in Jefferson City, with a particular focus on bills that target the tiny minority of transgender people. This malicious use of religion offends our faith community, as it does many others.

In our baptismal vows, we affirm that we will “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves,” and further that we will “strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being.” All of these bills make a mockery of our values and beliefs in the dignity of every person. They betray our promise to treat our neighbor as ourselves.

Not only are these bills against the LGBTQ community contrary to our values as Christians, but they are also flatly antithetical to our republican values that separate church and state as laid out in our United States Constitution. The Founding Fathers did not want a theocracy, but rather intended that people of all faiths — or no faith at all — could live together with equal rights under the rule of law.

These are dangerous days for our republic and our faith communities. We must not allow the furtherance of bigotry to be hidden cynically under a veil of religious fervor. We must speak out for each person, and ensure that every one of us is valued and has the same human rights, regardless of race, creed, sexual orientation or gender identity.

We at St. Mary’s Social Justice Ministry urge Missourians to speak out against these anti-LGBTQ bills now surfacing in our state legislature.

This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "There’s nothing Christian about these 19 anti-LGBTQ bills moving through Jeff City."