The Commercialization of and Profiting from Sodom, Worldwide: 200+ companies urge Supreme Court to make ‘sexual orientation,’ ‘gender identity’ protected classes

Wed Jul 3, 2019 – 6:26 pm EST

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 3, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – More than 200 corporations have signed an amicus brief urging the United States Supreme Court to interpret the meaning of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964’s prohibition against “sex” discrimination to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.”

While many of the corporate signatories are household names, the brief was originated and authored by attorneys representing the interests of high-powered LGBT activist groups, including the Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal, Out Leadership, Out and Equal, and Freedom for All Americans.   

Among the 206 companies who agreed to sign the LGBT activist-originated brief are: Airbnb, Amazon, American Express, American Airlines, Apple, Bank of America, Ben & Jerry’s, Best Buy, Disney, Domino’s, Expedia, Facebook, General Motors, Google, Hilton, IKEA, Macy’s, Marriott, Nike, PayPal, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, and Under Armour.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has issued a statement boasting, “The landmark brief has more corporate signers than any previous business brief in an LGBTQ non-discrimination case.”

“Emphasizing the scale of the support for LGBTQ workers, the brief lists all 206 corporations at both the beginning and end of the filing,” observed Law.com.

However, the number of corporations supportive of this legal effort is about half those who signed a brief in support of same-sex “marriage” in the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges case.

In October, the nine justices will hear oral arguments concerning three consolidated cases in which lower federal courts arrived at disparate decisions concerning the termination of employees because of their “sexual orientation” or “gender identity.”

“Federal appeals courts are divided over the scope of protection for gay, lesbian and transgender workers under civil rights laws,” noted the Law.com report.  

That division is exemplified in the three cases the court has chosen to hear: 

In Altitude Express v. Zarda, a skydiving instructor was fired after he revealed to a customer that he is gay. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that this was a form of discrimination based on “sex,” prohibited under Title VII;

In R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC and Aimee Stephens, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that a male funeral director who was fired after announcing his intention to dress as a woman while performing his duties at a Christian funeral home was the victim of “gender identity” discrimination, violating Title VII’s prohibition against sex discrimination;

In Bostock v. Clayton County, a man was fired from his job as a county child welfare services coordinator after his employer learned he is homosexual. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit chose not to view his employer’s action as violating Title VII’s ban on sex discrimination.

The U.S. Justice Department under the Trump Administration is expected to argue that the term “sex” as cited in Title VII does not include civil rights protections for “sexual orientation” or “gender identity.” 

The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is also urging the Supreme Court to halt lower courts’ expansion of the definition of “sex” under Title VII.  

“Substituting ‘gender identity’ for ‘sex’ in nondiscrimination laws … threatens freedom of conscience,” ADF asserted in April when it petitioned the Suprme Court to hear the Michigan Funeral Home case. “Statutes interpreted that way have the effect, for instance, of forcing doctors to participate in – or employers to pay for – surgical efforts to alter sex in violation of their deeply held beliefs … In sum, the Sixth Circuit ushered in a profound change in federal law accompanied by widespread legal and social ramifications.”

James Kirchick, a visiting fellow at the left-leaning Brookings Institute, has questioned whether expanding the meaning of “sex” under Title VII is necessary. Kirchick wrote last week at The Atlantic:  

Gay people today do not face anything like the state-sanctioned terror inflicted upon African Americans during the 1950s and ’60s, when the major Civil Rights Acts were passed. And unlike the disparity between African Americans and whites a half century ago (or today, for that matter), gays economically outperform heterosexuals. A 2017 study conducted by two Vanderbilt University economists reports that gay men earn 10 percent more on average than their straight peers. (Researchers have long identified a similar trend among lesbians.) HRC’s Corporate Equality Index, which tracks LGBTQ inclusiveness among the country’s leading employers, reports that 609 companies earned a 100 percent rating in 2018. (Only 13 companies won this honor in 2002.) And while some businesses may discriminate against LGBTQ people in hiring, their numbers are dwindling and they regularly face pressure campaigns to change their practices.

Kirchick continues:

Moreover, the majority of gay people live in the 22 states where nondiscrimination statutes are already on the books. A federal law will do nothing more to protect them. When I asked the Human Rights Campaign, the country’s leading gay-rights group, for statistics on the number of LGBTQ people annually denied employment, housing, or service at a hotel or restaurant due to their sexuality or gender identity, the group was unable to provide me with any. 

10 Things Jesus Had to Say about the Sexual Sin Debate

Shane Idleman | Contributor to ChristianHeadlines.com.

My hope is that readers will read the entire article before drawing conclusions. I have nothing but compassion for those trapped in sexual sin. Those who strongly believe in the Bible and God’s will regarding sexual behavior also strongly believe in unconditional love and forgiveness. To say that authentic Christians hate or fear those trapped in the homosexual lifestyle demonstrates a gross misunderstanding of the Christian faith. To “confront in love” simply comes from a desire to honor God and to truly love and care for others. The ability to relate to people on their level, show genuine concern, and love them regardless of their lifestyle is the mark of true Christianity.

In case you don’t continue reading, let me offer some encouragement: if you’re hopeless, depressed, and confused, look to the One who created you. He has the answers. No matter what you have done, you have the ability to turn to Christ and start anew: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

1. WE NEED A REVIVAL OF THE TRUTH.

It’s no surprise that the church, and our nation, desperately need to hear “the voice of one crying in the wilderness” to awaken, convict, and restore. It was not so long ago that we were concerned about “the fall of America.” America cannot fall because she has already fallen. We are now picking up the pieces of a broken nation reflected in our laws, lives, families, and children. America’s moral heartbeat has ceased because we cut off the source of life. We need resuscitation, renewal, and revival of the truth.

2. WE MUST SPEAK THE TRUTH IN LOVE.

When people, groups, denominations, or movements depart from absolute truth, and thus, quench and grieve the Spirit of God, they become mechanical in their approach to Christianity and lose the ability to guide. The Word of God is not in their hearts “like a burning fire” (Jeremiah 20:9), but relative, powerless, and debatable. This is what we see today.

Unfortunately, those who are sounding the alarm are often categorized as irrational, judgmental, bigoted, and intolerant. But how can we warn if we won’t confront, correct if we won’t challenge, and and contend if we won’t question? We must speak the truth in love…the Bible is crystal clear on sexual sin, including homosexuality. 

3. PRAYER IS ESSENTIAL.

Why is there a lack of conviction today? The reason may not be in the pew, but in the pulpit. Much depends on the prayer life of the preacher. Pastors, preachers, and teachers must spend extended time in prayer to be truly effective—God prepares the messenger before we prepare the message. Luther’s motto, “He that has prayed well has studied well,” rings true.

4. WE NEED REPENTENCE.

I’m convinced that the majority of the churches in America are seeking to please the masses rather than convict. Judgment is never mentioned; repentance is rarely sought; and sin is often excused. We want to build a church rather than break a heart; be politically correct rather than biblically correct; coddle and comfort rather than stir and convict. This leaves people confused and deceived because we teach and live a form of Christianity void of repentance…void of truth. 

5. BIBLICAL STANDARDS OF MORALITY ARE STILL VALID TODAY.

The “moral” laws in the Old Testament such as killing, stealing, lying, adultery, sexual immorality, and so on are all valid today. Jesus referred often to the Old Testament, and said that He didn’t come to abolish it, but to fulfill it. Although many of the ceremonial and dietary laws of the Old Testament do not apply today, the moral laws do. They are as significant today as they have been throughout history. For example, Leviticus 20:13 states, “If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination….” To suggest that this verse is invalid today is to advocate the dangerous practice of redefining or deleting what God has said. Jesus referred to the Old Testament often in regard to moral behavior.

The consequences of wrong actions may have changed, but the moral implications remain the same. For instance, even though we no longer stone to death those who commit adultery, this does not mean that adultery is acceptable or any less dangerous. Adultery is wrong even though there aren’t legal consequences.

6. WE ARE ALL BORN SINFUL.

Jesus condemned “all” sexual activity outside of marriage between a man and woman when He said, “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications…these defile a man” (Matthew 15:19). Jesus was implying that all sexual activity outside of marriage between a man and a woman is harmful and immoral. The word “fornication” in the Greek is porneia; where the word “pornography” comes from. We cannot say, “But I was born this way,” because we were all born to lie, cheat, lust, and deceive, but this doesn’t make it right…it makes us sinful and in need of a Savior.

7. SILENCE DOES NOT EQUAL APPROVAL.

An argument cannot be based solely on silence. To suggest that Jesus approved of homosexuality simply because He did not use the term “homosexual,” is to imply that He approved of necrophilia, pedophilia, incest, and bestiality. But, of course, we know better.

8. PEOPLE HAVE TURNED AWAY FROM GOD AND FROM DOING GOOD.

Other passage in the New Testament are clear on this issue as well. Romans 1:18-32 and 1 Corinthians 6:1-20 are good places to start. In short, mankind did not see fit to acknowledge God and they suppressed the truth; therefore, God gave them over to a depraved mind—to do those things which are not proper. Homosexual behavior, and sexual sin in general, is comparable with dishonoring the body and turning from God. “The sexual disordering of the human race is a judgment of God for exchanging Him for the creature” (John Piper).

 9. MARRIAGE IS BETWEEN ONE MAN AND ONE WOMAN.

Jesus said that since the beginning of creation, God created them male and female in order that they would be joined together and become one flesh. He adds, “Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate” (Mark 10:9). Marriage between a man and a woman is God’s plan since creation. No matter how many laws are passed in favor of gay-marriage, it will not change God’s mind. Man often rebels against God; this is nothing new.

10. JESUS OFFERS ABUNDANT LOVE AND FORGIVENESS.

In closing, Jesus would often speak out against sin, but His love and mercy also reached out to those who regretted and hated their condition. Forgiveness is a mark of genuine faith. We should have compassion for those who struggle with same-sex attraction because we all struggle with sin, but at the same time, we should not condone or excuse this type of sin any more than we condone or excuse any other sin.