Showing posts with label Family Research Council. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family Research Council. Show all posts

Thursday, March 8, 2018

How the Tech Giant Cabal Shadow-Bans, Censors, and Snuffs Out Your Christian Voice - CBN News Lorie Johnson

Peter Sprigg, Senior Fellow for Policy Studies at the Family Research Council

How the Tech Giant Cabal Shadow-Bans, Censors, and Snuffs Out Your Christian Voice
03-08-2018
CBN News Lorie Johnson
Powerful tech companies rule our world today, and shocking stories are coming out about how they're silencing the worldviews of millions of Christian and conservative Americans, censoring the messages you're allowed to read and post online.
The latest high-profile case might be called a gaffe or "mistake," but it actually exposes the tip of the iceberg in a much deeper, darker agenda.
This week, social network powerhouse Facebook came under fire for a survey asking users whether pedophiles should be able to ask underage girls for photographs.
The users were given multiple choice answers, none of which included "calling the police." Instead the options ranged from: "This content should not be allowed on Facebook, and no one should be able to see it" to "This content should be allowed on Facebook, and I would not mind seeing it."
Evangelist Franklin Graham called the survey "ridiculous and shameful" in a post on his own Facebook page.
"Why would Facebook ask such a question?" Graham wrote. "They surveyed users asking if pedophiles should be able to ask children for sexual pictures. It just shows you how low our moral standards in this country have fallen. Many people today don't seem to recognize right from wrong... Facebook now says the question was a mistake—well, to say the least, I firmly agree. To have a survey asking this is ridiculous and it's shameful. Pedophilia is just wickedness. The Bible says, 'For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts. (Mark 7:21).'"
Graham tweeted a similar message.
Peter Sprigg, Senior Fellow for Policy Studies at the Family Research Council also expressed outrage, telling CBN News, "Transmitting this type of information is illegal. Possessing this type of material, child pornography, is illegal, so it's absolutely incomprehensible how anyone at Facebook could have thought this was an appropriate question."
Facebook said the survey has been taken down since it refers to "offensive content that is already prohibited on Facebook," stating to the New York Post, "We have prohibited child grooming on Facebook since our earliest days, we have no intention of changing this, and we regularly work with the police to ensure that anyone found acting in such a way is brought to justice."
This incident is just the latest in a series of moves suggesting big technology and social media companies such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google – which heavily influence cultural opinions – seem to be blind or outright hostile to issues important to Christians and cultural conservatives.
Sprigg pointed out that recently Facebook warned users that a story from the Christian site The Babylon Bee was "Fake News," apparently not realizing that the stories are satire. 
"All of their stories are untrue, that's the whole point. And for Facebook to be so ignorant," he continued, "shows a real ham-handedness." 
On a more serious note, Sprigg revealed another case of censorship. "I have a friend with an ex-gay ministry who was suspended for ten days," Sprigg said, "He was accused of having hate speech."
James O'Keefe, the founder of Project Veritas, who went undercover to expose Planned Parenthood abuses, told CBN News he has new undercover videos, this time exposing how social media companies regulate content. 
"I think it's very scary for our society. They're rewiring the DNA of our democracy, censoring ideas because they don't like the ideas," he said. "It's Orwellian, like something out of 'A Brave New World.'"
One of the videos shows Pranay Singh, a Direct Messaging Engineer at Twitter, describing how company employees identify hot-button language in Tweets and then write algorithms to delete them and others like them. 
A sample of the language he says would be inappropriate: "They'll all be like guns, God, America, the American flag and the cross," Singh said. "Who says that? Who talks like that?"
Another undercover video shows a former Twitter engineer describing a practice called "shadow banning" saying, "You ban someone, but they don't know they've been banned because they keep posting and no one sees their content. So they just think that no one is engaging with their content when in reality, no one is seeing it." 
O'Keefe says the terms they choose to ban reflect a clear bias.
"They're talking about shadow banning people who believe in God, guns and the Bible," O'Keefe said, "If you're a Christian and you're tweeting, Twitter will consider you a Russian bot."
O'Keefe said tech companies like Twitter, Facebook, and Google, "Are not allowing information unless it fits their narrative.  They are altering the perception of what's newsworthy and preventing facts from reaching people, not allowing people to see that information."
Twitter responded to the undercover videos by stating that they do not "shadowban" accounts, but do "take actions to downrank accounts that are abusive, and mark them accordingly so people can still to click through and see these Tweets if they so choose." 
Twitter also said some of the people in the videos, "The individuals depicted in this video were speaking in a personal capacity and do not represent or speak for Twitter." 
Other examples of perceived censorship include Google-owned YouTube restricting a PragerU video exposing myths about the abortion giant Planned Parenthood.
Similarly, Twitter would not allow an anti-abortion advertisement from Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn that blasted Planned Parenthood's sale of body parts from aborted babies. 
The pro-life group Live Action contends both Twitter and Facebook have restricted their posts condemning abortion.
In addition to suppressing Christian content, former Facebook employeesrevealed they were instructed to bury conservative content, and regularly did so, such as stories from the Republican CPAC meeting and pieces about Republican leaders such as Mitt Romney and Rand Paul despite knowing the stories would be of interest to its users. 
In January, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a new company policy restricting certain content their customers will view.  "As we roll this out, you'll see less public content like posts from businesses, brands, and media," his statement read. 
However, critics say only Christian and conservative content appears to be what has been restricted.  The analysis shows engagement numbers among those publishers dropped by more than half, while others remained the same.  
The role of technology companies filtering the news is the subject of a new documentary by journalist Peter Schweizer, author of the book, "Clinton Cash." 
The movie, to be released in May, is called "The Creepy Line," referencing a notorious comment made by former Google chief executive and Chairman Eric Schmidt, who, speaking about privacy issues in 2010, said it was his company's role "to get right up to the creepy line and not cross it."

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Conservative Icon Phyllis Schlafly Goes to be With the Lord - BOB ESCHLIMAN CHARISMA NEWS

Phyllis Schlafly, the matriarch of the American conservative movement, passed away Monday night at the age of 92. (Reuters photo)

Conservative Icon Phyllis Schlafly Goes to be With the Lord

BOB ESCHLIMAN  CHARISMA NEWS
There are few who, in their lifetime, have done more to advance the conservative, founding principles of America than Phyllis Schlafly.
Monday, the 92-year-old grassroots activist and organizer, who had dedicated more than 70 years in public service passed away at her family home in Saint Louis, Mo. The Eagle Forum, which she founded to advance a Christian, pro-family, pro-life agenda, made the following announcement.
An iconic American leader whose love for America was surpassed only by her love of God and her family, Phyllis Schlafly, an indomitable pro-family grassroots advocate and organizer, was 92 years old. Mrs. Schlafly was preceded in death by her beloved husband Fred and is survived by six children along with 16 grand and 3 great grandchildren.
Phyllis Schlafly spent an astounding 70 years in public service of her fellow Americans. Her focus from her earliest days until her final ones was protecting the family, which she understood as the building block of life. She recognized America as the greatest political embodiment of those values. From military superiority and defense to immigration and trade; from unborn life to the nuclear family and parenthood, Phyllis Schlafly was a courageous and articulate voice for common sense and traditional values. She authored 27 books and thousands of articles. She spoke tens of thousands of times across the United States.
Her joy in life was evident to all through her smile and wit. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Among the first to respond to the announcement was Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who said he had just spoken with Schlafly directly a few days prior to her passing. He said:
"Phyllis Schlafly is a conservative icon who led millions to action, reshaped the conservative movement, and fearlessly battled globalism and the 'kingmakers' on behalf of America's workers and families. I was honored to spend time with her during this campaign as she waged one more great battle for national sovereignty. I was able to speak with her by phone only a few weeks ago, and she sounded as resilient as ever. 
"Our deepest prayers go out to her family and all her loved ones. She was a patriot, a champion for women, and a symbol of strength. She fought every day right to the end for America First. Her legacy will live on in the movement she led and the millions she inspired."
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins was also among the very first to respond to Schlafly's passing. He noted that she would be remembered most for her "courageous leadership in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds."
"With the political establishment, the media, and academia all arrayed against her, she organized a grassroots movement that not only stopped the Equal Rights Amendment but became the foundation for the pro-life, pro-family movement we have today," he said. "I have little doubt that the political and cultural landscape of America today would have long ago been devoid of true conservatism if not for her leadership. She never surrendered her principles and she never gave in to intimidation.
"Her love for God and this country drove her to fight for the Constitutional principles that founded this nation. We honor Phyllis for the lessons that she taught us all. I'm proud to have stood alongside her for faith, family and freedom."
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, was among the many American politicians who was influenced at an early age by Schlafly's seminal work, A Choice, Not an Echo, a book that launched the conservative grassroots political movement. He later had a chance to develop a personal friendship with her.
"She was brilliant, tough, tenacious, and driven by absolute adherence to principle and not to personalities," he wrote in a statement on social media Monday night. "I will miss her personally, but the conservative cause has lost its matriarch. And there is no one even close to replacing her. God bless you Phyllis, for changing the world!"
Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins was among the many conservative women influenced by Schlafly, and later became a close personal friend of the constitutionalist icon. She told Breitbart News on Monday night that Schlafly was one of her personal heroes and mentors, who "inspired millions to the fight against abortion and the disastrous Equal Rights Amendment which would have made abortion a constitutional right."
"Phyllis is the reason the Republican Party is a pro-life party," she said. "Phyllis will be missed yet her legacy will live on through my generation and in the young women who are fearless in the fight for the lives of the preborn and their mothers on their campuses and in their workplaces and communities."
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Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Pro-Lifers on 'Disappointing' Ruling: Next President More Important than Ever - CBN News Abigail Robertson

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Pro-Lifers on 'Disappointing' Ruling: Next President More Important than Ever
06-28-2016

WASHINGTON – In a controversial ruling, the Supreme Court struck down a Texas law requiring physicians who perform abortions to have hospital admitting privileges. The law also requires clinics to meet hospital-like safety stands for outpatient surgery.
Hundreds awaited Monday as the dramatic day played out at the high court.
The issue: the abortion and Texas access law that closed all but a handful of clinics in the Lone Star State over failure to meet state health standards. In ruling against the Texas law, pro-life advocates say the court missed an opportunity to protect women.
"It's extremely disappointing to see five unelected and unaccountable justices make this decision that hurts women," said Arina Grossu, director for the Center for Human Dignity at the Family Research Council. "This case is about women's health and safety standards and they have refused to protect women. And this is going to mean that more women are going to continue to be hurt and even die in these abortion facilities."
Pro-choice advocates argue that facilities are safe enough and their concern is over access.
"I believe that the fact that the laws have made it so – there's so few abortion clinics – proves the fact that the laws are making a lower access to abortion versus making a safer abortion," one pro-choice advocate responded. "So I believe that access is really important and I'm really happy that we won."
Justices in the majority felt the Texas regulations pose an obstacle to women seeking abortions and could force women in dire circumstances to seek out unlicensed practitioners.
"Basically he said that these were new standards," Steve Aden, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, said. "He ignored the fact that they were consistent with the standards that [they] were applied by Texas to outpatient surgical facilities across the board, and he said they just simply closed too many clinics."
Lawyers for the Texas state law are discouraged by the ruling, but they think many clinics will remain closed because the overall demand for abortion is decreasing.  
"The reason that clinics are closing by and large across the country is because abortion is more and more unpopular. That's a wonderful thing," Aden said.
"We know that the majority of Millennials, my generation, the majority of college-aged women are pro-life and we're going to continue fighting for them," Jane Riccardi with Students for Life of America said.
The decision has spurred pro-choice groups to continue fighting for the lives of the unborn. They're planning to go after other states with strict clinic regulations.
"This is a rallying point for the presidential election," Concerned Women for America President Penny Nance said. "There are huge implications for the unborn in this next election and I call on every pro-life American to make sure they vote."
"We're going to work very hard to make sure we have better justices and overturn this decision," Nance said. "We're not done."
Pro-life leaders say this decision underscores the importance of electing a pro-life president in 2016 since the next president will appoint at least one new justice to the Supreme Court.

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Joel Rosenberg - Apocalyptic Islam to the Jerusalem Leaders Summit (full video)


Here’s the full video of my address on Apocalyptic Islam to the Jerusalem Leaders Summit.

by joelcrosenberg
Joel-LeadersSummit2
 If you're interested in watching the 39-minute address I delivered at the Jerusalem Leaders Summit on the differences between Radical Islam and Apocalyptic Islam, please click here.
I'm deeply grateful to Joel Anand Samy and his team from The Heritage Foundation, National Religious Broadcasters, the Family Research Council, and other organizations who organized the Summit and invited me to participate.
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joelcrosenberg | November 17, 2015 at 4:36 am | Categories: Uncategorized | URL:http://wp.me/piWZ7-3op

Saturday, September 19, 2015

The House votes to defund Planned Parenthood


The bills now move to the Senate. (Reuters)


The House votes to defund Planned Parenthood


On Friday, the House of Representatives passed two pro-life bills, including a measure that would defund Planned Parenthood for one year unless it stopped performing abortions.
 The House passed Rep. Diane Black's Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015 on a 241-187 vote. Two Democrats voted in favor of the measure; three Republicans voted against it.
The House also voted in favor of Rep. Trent Franks' Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection bill, 248-177.
"Planned Parenthood takes half-a-billion dollars each year from struggling taxpayers to use in its abortion franchises nationwide, which do not provide full-service medical care for women," said Dr. Charmaine Yoest, the president and CEO of Americans United for Life. "Real healthcare respects life." 
""We thank the bipartisan majority in the House of Representatives for removing taxpayer funding to this scandal-ridden organization and redirecting those funds to the thousands of full-spectrum health clinics," Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, agreed. "The next step is to add this measure to the short-term budget resolution that forces the Senate to vote again on redirecting tax dollars away from Planned Parenthood."
Recent undercover videos featuring shocking footage of Planned Parenthood employees discussing the dismemberment and harvest of fetal organs for money helped spur many Congressmen to support the legislation, which would impose a moratorium on funding the abortion provider.
"In light of the troubling Center for Medical Progress videos, the U.S. House made the right call in suspending that level of investment so that women and girls' healthcare needs will be met in a safe environment," Yoest said.
The second bill imposes tougher standards for abortionists that make no effort to save the lives of babies born alive during botched abortions.
"One of the most disturbing discussions in the undercover videos are cold, calculating conversations on the part of top Planned Parenthood officials who discuss the kind of money they can make from babies who die during an abortion, but because their bodies remained intact, their parts are worth more money," she continued. "A humane society makes it clear in our laws and in our culture that a child born alive deserves protection. I commend the members of the House for standing up for the most vulnerable among us."
Dr. Yoest testified on Thursday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health, about troubling legal issues raised in the undercover videos revealing Planned Parenthood's trafficking in infant body parts.
To read her testimony and to see AUL's legal analysis of the issues raised, click here. To learn more about the health risks of abortion for all women, click here.
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Friday, September 4, 2015

With Kim Davis Ruling, Is Government Working to Ban Christians From Public Service?

With Kim Davis Ruling, Is Government Working to Ban Christians From Public Service?


Are Christians at risk of losing their religious liberty?
Are Christians at risk of losing their religious liberty? (Reuters)
Today we are witnessing what the four dissenting Supreme Court Justices warned of in the Obergefell decision: religious liberty in America is in grave danger.
While five justices on the Supreme Court created this dilemma, it is incumbent upon Congress, and in this case legislators, to ensure orthodox religious beliefs are accommodated. Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear could solve this court-created conflict by immediately calling for a special legislative session and establishing statutory accommodations for clerks like Kim Davis. 
Ultimately, this is about more than same-sex marriage licenses in Kentucky. It is about the ability of Christians and other religious people to serve in positions of public trust. If this is not resolved in a manner that accommodates the orthodox religious beliefs of Clerk Davis, this will, in effect, establish a reverse religious test barring those who hold biblical views of marriage from positions of public service. Such a religious test by proclamation or practice is wrong.
Now a court is jailing someone over this because the governor failed to act. How hard is it to change a simple form to remove her name from it? Isn't that worth doing to keep someone out of jail because of what they believe? Governor Beshear must call for a special session of the legislature and grant an accommodation to Kim Davis.
If governors and legislators thought this threat to religious freedom would go away, the jailing of Kim Davis proves them wrong. The time to protect and accommodate religious liberty is now.
Tony Perkins is president of the Washington, D.C.-based Family Research Council. 
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Friday, April 24, 2015

The Supreme Court's Mind Made Up on Gay Marriage?

The Supreme Court's Mind Made Up on Gay Marriage?

WASHINGTON -- Next week, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear cases that will likely determine whether same-sex marriage will become a legal nationwide.
The justices have rolled four cases together that will allow them to decide two questions: must states recognize other states' gay marriages, and does the Constitution require states to allow same-sex marriage?
Some believe the justices have already decided to create that right before hearing the case. But others say the matter is far from decided.
On Wednesday, a panel discussion at the Family Research Council was swimming upstream against conventional thought on the issue.
That is, it's a foregone conclusion that the Supreme Court justices will rule homosexuals have as much of a right to same-sex marriage as heterosexuals do to traditional marriage.
But these panelists pointed out there's evidence the justices won't rubber stamp gay marriage.
"When the lawyers walk into that courtroom on Tuesday morning, they're going to be walking into a situation where there are three-and-a-half justices who've said 'no constitutional right to same-sex marriage' and no justices who've said there is a constitutional right," former Supreme Court Clerk Gene Schaerr said.
One of the more interesting propositions brought up at Wednesday's panel discussion is that maybe the Christians of the world owe it to the homosexuals to point out that their lifestyle is intrinsically wrong.
"Faith actually teaches nothing about hatred toward gays and lesbians; in fact, the opposite.  But it also says the behavior is damaging and harmful to your eternal salvation.   That's the faith teaching," John-Henry Westen, editor-in-chief of LifeSiteNews, said.
"But they also know from the empirical evidence that the behavior is damaging to your body as well," he added.
Westen argued that Christians need to say to gays, "We love you enough to tell you this is harmful.  In fact, we'll even take the hater and bigot label so that we can tell you this because we care about you."

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

We Must Focus on Ending Persecution of Christians Worldwide - Steve Strang


United Nations building
United Nations building (Wikimedia Commons)

Strang Report, by Steven Strang, Founder of Charisma magazine
Last Friday I had the privilege of speaking at the United Nations on the topic of the persecuted church. If you missed what I said, click here. Even though I've had many wonderful experiences in my role as a Christian journalist, it was a peak experience to go to that august assembly and be given the floor to speak out for those who have no voice.
Since Friday there have been reports of Christians thrown overboard by Muslims on a migrant ship in the Mediterranean apparently only because they were Christians. And some Ethiopians were slaughtered in Libya only because they were Christians.
When will the killing end? The United Nations and U.S. leaders must pass resolutions to protect Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East.

It's also vitally important that President Obama appoint a Special Envoy for the protection of religious minorities in the Middle East and call for the establishment of an International Day of Prayer in solidarity with Christians in the Middle East.

There was an impressive lineup of speakers from Rabbi Jonathan Cahn to Lt. Gen. (Ret) William Boykin, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, and representatives from nearly every segment of the Christian community. The speeches were so good that we will publish most of them in the next two weeks. It's my way of giving attention to the problem.
While it was a great honor to be invited to speak and I delivered my remarks with conviction, I realized the real value in my being there wasn't to speak as much as for me to be reminded of the seriousness of the problem. Also, it reminded me that I can't be content to write about it from time to time rather than make it a focus.

We must focus on this. If we don't, who will? And we can't just feel persecution of Christians is something that only applies to others in some far away place. If one part of the body of Christ suffers, we all suffer. And in a way, we're victims of the same anti-Christian feelings—there is more societal discrimination of Christians in the West too.
I call on other Christian media like Christianity TodayWNDChristian Post and Salem Communications to focus on this too. In addition, Christian radios and TV should raise awareness since the secular media seem to minimize it.
Friday's event, as historic as it was, received minimal coverage in the press.
So you can help by making your friends and fellow church members aware of the problem. Speak up. Make your voice heard. Forward articles on Christian persecution to your friends on social media—including the ones we publish.
And pray. We must pray for those who suffer. We must pray the suffering will end. We must pray that the U.N. will speak up to condemn this as unacceptable in the civilized world.
Do you agree? Leave your thoughts below.
Steve Strang is the founding editor and publisher of Charisma. Follow him on Twitter@sstrang or Facebook (stephenestrang).
To read more about Christian persecution and Islamic terrorism, please check out Mark Gabriel's Journey Into the Mind of an Islamic Terrorist. You can purchase the book by clicking here.
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Monday, November 3, 2014

Thousands Stand with Pastors Targeted by Houston Mayor

Thousands Stand with Pastors Targeted by Houston Mayor

WASHINGTON - Thousands gathered in a Houston church Sunday evening and many more watched online to defend the right of pastors to be free of government intimidation.
The gathering came after Houston Mayor Annise Parker, a lesbian, and fellow officials subpoenaed the sermons of five pastors.
Host Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council, told the crowd at Houston's Grace Community Church that more than 700 churches and 3,000 home groups had signed up to take part in the "I Stand Sunday" event via the webcast.
"I stand here today with you that I may speak, preach and teach on the issues that deal with society, the issues that the Bible speaks about," Pastor Hernan Castano of Iglesia Rios de Aceite, one of the "Houston Five" -- as the pastors have become known -- said.
Mayor Parker became upset with church-organized opposition to a pro-gay, pro-transgender city ordinance. In a legal move, she had called for local pastors' sermons to be subpoenaed.
Erik Stanley, a senior legal counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, has been representing the pastors.
"These subpoenas are just one front in a rapidly developing conflict. And the philosophy underlying this conflict is that sexual liberty trumps everything, including religious liberty," Stanley said.
Another of the pastors' lawyers, Andy Taylor, told participants it's sad how far Houston officials have strayed from the spirit of the First Amendment.
"'I may not like what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it,' and that is what the First Amendment is based on, ladies and gentlemen," Taylor said, quoting Voltaire.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee pointed out an important truth about the Bill of Rights.
"It never, ever, ever told you, as a citizen, what you cannot do. Every one of the Bill of Rights tells the government what it can't do," Huckabee explained. "And it tells the government it cannot encroach on what your pastor says or what you believe."
After the outcry, Mayor Parker withdrew the subpoenas, but the pastors and their allies suspect the battle's far from over.
Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson knows about facing pressure while standing up for his beliefs. He admonished the Texans involved in this struggle to embrace the fight.
"It's been granted to you, Texas, to not only believe in Jesus, but also to suffer for Him," Robertson said. "Praise God for suffering for Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Let's get it on."
Dr. Rick Scarborough, with Vision America asked, "Isn't it just like God to give us Texans a chance to show the world what Texas pastors are made of?"
Dr. Ronnie Floyd, head of the Southern Baptist Convention, said the church has to shake off apathy and take the lead in getting the nation right with God.
"I say this to all of Houston and I say it to the church of America tonight: It is time for us to wake up from our slumber," he said.
Then Floyd asked people to get on their knees as he led them in a prayer of repentance.
Huckabee suggested one of the things Christians must repent of is political apathy.
"We have not just the right to vote. But if we love God, we have a responsibility to vote and to be the salt and light of our nation. And we have failed," Huckabee said.
"There are 80 million self-proclaimed evangelicals in America," the former governor explained. "Of the 80 million evangelicals, only half of them are even registered to vote. Of the half that are registered to vote, only half of them voted in the presidential election."
"And of those, only half of them will vote in an off-year election," he continued. "And we wonder why it is that we're seeing the kinds of things we're seeing in cities like Houston, Texas."
Another of the "Houston Five," Senior Pastor Steve Riggle of Grace Community Church, asked people to come to Houston City Hall at 11 a.m. Wednesday, November 5, to ask Mayor Parker to allow a vote of the city's citizens on the pro-gay, pro-transgender ordinance that led to this confrontation in the first place.
Todd Starnes, host of FOX News Radio, writes frequently about attacks on religious liberty in America. He suggested Houston pastors and parishioners need to be as strong as some of the students standing up for their religious rights in school.
Starnes cited Roy Costner of Liberty, South Carolina, who slated to give the valedictorian speech at his high school graduation. When he submitted his speech, school officials began blacking out large sections.
"And Roy Costner was told that he was not allowed to say anything about Jesus, and they marked that out of his speech," Starnes recounted. "They said 'Roy, you're not allowed to say anything about the Bible,' so they marked that out of his speech. And then they said, 'Roy, you can't say anything about Christianity in the speech.' And Roy told me the speech looked like an NSA document that had been redacted."
When graduation day came, school officials wouldn't let Roy carry anything to the podium and what awaited him there was the speech they'd approved.
"Roy Costner stood before that large crowd and he took that government-approved speech in his hands and he tore it in half and he asked the audience to rise to their feet and he said, 'Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.' Roy Costner, 18 years old, took a stand," Starnes said.
Perkins ended the evening with a command from Ephesians 6.
"In the end it simply comes down to one thing -- standing.  'Having done all, stand," Perkins said.
Watch CBN video: Houston Pastors