Evil has erupted again, this time in the French Riviera. As the Bastille Day celebrations came to a close in the Mediterranean city of Nice, festivity turned to fear when a terrorist in a truck killed 84 people. Neither young nor old were spared, as men, women, children, and even babies were murdered before police killed the Tunisian-born terrorist. The face of evil in our world takes as its victims real faces of real people.

Over three thousand years ago, a military leader named David wrote this: “Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end, and may you establish the righteous — you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God!” (Psalm 7:9, ESV). It’s an ancient lament that is certainly worth echoing today as we pray for the families of those fallen in France. Evil is timeless, and cannot be ignored or explained away. Neither — as we’ve seen too many times in recent months — can the very real threat of Islamic terrorism in our world.

Yet while cities across Europe are bombed, President Obama’s focus has been to make sure our military is more sexualized. While Islamic terrorists shoot people in nightclubs and airports, President Obama’s administration is busy making sure chaplains can’t speak on biblical sexuality. And while Islamic terrorists drive trucks through crowds, and the world awaits with fear whatever the next attack might be, this administration is spending its time and our money making sure we have more people in uniform who identify as transgendered. The wolves have long been at the door of our nation, and the Obama administration’s only claim to military readiness is that it is more ready than ever to let them in.

If America is to face the threat of Islamic terror, this attitude toward our military needs to go. That’s why I worked hard alongside the FRC Action team in Cleveland this week to introduce language into the GOP platform calling for renewed attention to radical Islamic terrorism and military readiness. On readiness, the Platform Committee adopted this amendment:

“We believe that our nation is most secure when the president and the administration prioritize readiness, recruitment, and retention, rather than using the military to advance a social or political agendas. Military readiness must not be sacrificed on the altar of politically correct social agendas, which this administration has done.”

And on Islamic terror — a phrase seldom heard from the Obama administration — this statement was adopted:

“Radical Islamic terrorism poses an existential threat to personal freedom and peace around the world. We oppose its brutal assault on all human beings, all of whom have inherent dignity. The Republican Party stands united with all victims of terrorism and will fight at home and abroad to destroy terrorist organizations and protect the lives and fundamental liberties of all people.”

Unless the United States identifies the threat for what it is, and makes ready our military to face that threat, this evil will only grow. We need leaders who understand that a military is for fighting wars, and terrorism won’t be stopped by gun control measures or restricting the religious freedom of our men and women in uniform. Only then can we begin to hope, like David so long ago, that the evil of the wicked will come to an end.

Originally published here.

Pentagon Fiddles with Gender While World Burns

President Obama may be reluctant to even name radical Islamic terrorists as our enemy around the world, but he is determined to use our armed forces to fight the culture war at home. Following the June 30 announcement that people who identify as transgendered would no longer be barred from military service, the Washington Times [yesterday] described a Defense Department document that has now laid out procedures for handling “gender transition” by active-duty and reserve members of the military.

Although a Pentagon spokesman denied that the policy would “bring new medical problems into the military,” the language of the 18-page “Instruction” belies that claim. It acknowledges possible “impacts on mission and readiness,” including “deployment, operational, training, exercise schedules, and critical skills availability” — all of which “may limit the Service member’s performance of official duties.” One of the protocols for “gender transition” is called the “Real Life Experience” (RLE) — a period of time before gender reassignment surgery during which the individual begins dressing and living socially as their intended gender.

The document warns that “consistent application of military standards will normally require that RLE occur in an off-duty status and away from the Service member’s place of duty.” It’s hard to think of anything less compatible with the readiness of our fighting force than giving “extended leave” so that service members can pretend to be members of the opposite sex.

Originally published here.

Title IX: The Law of Unintended Consequences

Is it ever acceptable to put a child in harm’s way in order to advance an ideology? School should be a safe place for children, and yet the Obama administration’s lawless new interpretation of Title IX needlessly dumps a host of new problems onto schools, which should be focusing on educating students rather than trying to figure out how to ignore their conscience in order to allow boys who identify as girls to shower and change next to girls. The law now includes protections for anyone to use the bathroom or locker room of their choice, regardless of their biological sex, even specifying that separate, single-use facilities are not enough of an accommodation.

To try and sift through the mess that Obama administration’s new law has caused, Family Research Council recently hosted a panel discussion featuring three different perspectives. Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.), Oklahoma Wesleyan University President Dr. Everett Piper, and Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Matt Sharp gave voice to how the new law is unconstitutional, violates the religious liberty of Christian schools, and violates Title IX itself. Additionally, the panel also explored what is being done legislatively, educationally, and legally to stand for students and families in response to the “ideological fascism” on display with this new interpretation of Title IX. Watch this panel on-demand here.

Originally published here.