The state of politics here in Tennessee is at an all-time high level of “Us vs Them”, which means control and conformity to divide us at the state and national levels. A very important part of this toxic division at the state level is David Fowler, along with State Senators Mark Pody, Mae Beavers. They are insistent upon removing liberties from LGBT people.
Why? “Because God said so”.
I’m not joking. Even in the least.
Let’s dive deeper…
First we have the 2016 GOP official party platform. Here are three important cornerstones of the GOP as outlined in the preamble of the platform document:
We affirm — as did the Declaration of Independence: that all are created equal, endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
We believe our constitutional system — limited government, separation of powers, federalism, and the rights of the people — must be preserved uncompromised for future generations
We believe the Constitution was written not as a flexible document, but as our enduring covenant.
However, a grave contradiction appears in pages 31-32 that takes away liberty, inalienable rights of life and the pursuit of happiness from those that are LGBT. Only a marriage between one man and woman are valid, according this platform. This reads like James Dobson of Focus on the Family himself wrote this section of the party’s backbone document. Read it for yourself:
https://www.gop.com/the-2016-republican-party-platform/
What is Liberty?
Liberty: “The state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one’s way of life, behavior, or political views.”
In Tennessee,House of Representatives bill HB1111 passed this morning. It re-words the definition of marriage, stripping LGBT people the liberty to marry the person they choose. Yes, the government of the state of Tennessee is halfway there in telling people who they can and cannot marry. Thus pages 31-32 of the GOP platform are more important than the US Constitution guaranteeing people the liberty to live their life as they see fit.
In creating government intrusion by weaseling inside the daily lives of many “because God”, the GOP can kiss goodbye to any claim of the “limited government” portion of their GOP platform.
David Fowler, a Tennessee activist and politician, is hell-bent on removing liberties for LGBT people that are enumerated in the Constitution and the GOP party platform. He is the head of the Family Action Council based in middle Tennessee. He really doesn’t care what is constitutional and what is unconstitutional, he said so himself: “if that word makes the law unconstitutional, so be it.”
The LGBT Erasure bill and Fowler’s dreadful admission:
https://www.outandaboutnashville.com/story/family-action-council-confirms-intention
Erasing LGBT people from the political and social landscape is the end game for these politicians “because God.”
He’s going against his party’s own platform as defined in the platform preamble. That doesn’t seem to matter to Fowler and the rest of these types of people. They have it in their minds that LGBT are not equal under God, under the law, nor the Constitution nor the Declaration of Independence so it’s OK to be unconstitutionally against them. “Because God…
Liberty is only for people who are straight, evidently”
TN House rep Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) in regards to gay people marrying: “it is wicked, it is wrong and I am doing the best I can to warn them.” He firmly believes he’s protecting religious freedoms by removing liberties of others “because God”.
Someone please remind Mr Pody that he is a politician, not a prophet.
Here is Fowler, Beavers, and other state Senators attempting getting in the way of one’s due process last year. This is a gay couple, so they saw fit politically to intervene “because God”:
http://www.nashvillepost.com/politics/tennessee-gop/article/20833371/fowler-53-legislators-trying-to-stop-custody-in-gay-divorce
The politicians that jumped on the bandwagon to file a motion against the couple did so because they aren’t straight, they’re gay. So that inevitably means to these politicians that their liberties aren’t as valid as straight people’s liberties.
No modern day Pharisee’s resume would be complete without being on the anti-transgender person bandwagon. Like clockwork, Fowler & Co. attempt to take away the proper restroom from LGBT people and replace common sense with their declaration of who can use what bathroom.
Last year Fowler prayed with a couple dozen other pastors in support of the anti-transgender measure (yep, more anti-LGBT nonsense) to force men into women’s restrooms and women into men’s restrooms, “because God”:
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/politics/state/story/2016/apr/18/tn-conservative-pastors-rally-pray-support-transgender-student-bathroom-bill/360753/
Praying for legislation to pass so that, if trans people actually follow this repulsive law, will be harassed and beat up. All in the name of “God”.
Liberty can’t be available for transgender people, they are part of the LGBT. So that means liberty is only for non-transgender people who are straight, evidently.
This isn’t Christianity.
This isn’t what Jesus would do.
However, this is what modern day Pharisees would do.
What is a Pharisee? “A member of an ancient Jewish sect, distinguished by strict observance of the traditional and written law, and commonly held to have pretensions to superior sanctity.”
In today’s USA terms, a Pharisee is a member of a staunch Evangelical Fundamentalist Christian belief system that everyone in their jurisdiction needs to live by their strict observance of the traditional and written law, and they are commonly held to have pretensions to superior sanctity.
These modern Pharisees declare we need to live under their decrees and doctrines. They believe they are acting on God’s behalf.
Could it be any clearer that we have modern day Pharisees running our government? The Pharisees killed the spirit of God, Jesus, and they’re killing the spirit of God in America these days with replacing faith with conformity to their laws.
When we clear away the smokescreens of political maneuvering and half truths, we see the real motivation behind Fowler, Beavers, Pody and the rest of the modern day Pharisees: “We don’t care about perverse LGBT people or their liberties. We don’t care if what we do is unconstitutional nor against our own GOP platform nor against the Declaration of Independence. We do care that you submit to our view, which is God’s view because we have God on our side. LGBT you do not belong in our presence.”
“…because God”.
Judge people by their actions not their words. In the words of these GOP supporters of these toxic pieces of legislation, they claim to hold up the Constitution of the United States of America, the party’s platform. However, by their deeds they end-run the Constitution, create laws that strip people of their liberties and shred the Declaration of Independence by insisting all are not created equal.
They are modern day Pharisees indeed. Because this is so, we all suffer.
But to the real God, a God these modern day Pharisees do know now because they love law more than they love Him, He loves all His children, including those who happen to be LGBT. He said so with the blood of Jesus. He proved so with the resurrection.
If only these modern day Pharisees would follow the real God, the real Jesus, not a worldly system of conformity with the facade of Jesus’ name on the door. But they don’t.
Until then, we realize we have always belonged to God. The real God, not the false, worldly God of the modern day Pharisees where only straight, non-transgender, non-LGBT people are welcome.