Donald Trump’s election may have been the most important win of Nov. 7 — but it wasn’t the only one. The White House was only part of the success story written by voters three months ago — and weeks after the states have gaveled in new sessions, Americans are starting to see why. While all eyes have been on Washington, 50 other capital cities are already off the starting blocks and lapping the liberal agenda. What most people have probably forgotten in the long media shadow of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is that last fall, voters also handed the keys to Republicans in a whopping 32 states. That means that the legislatures are completely controlled by Republicans, many of them conservatives — 25 of which also have a GOP governor. If that isn’t the stuff of change, I don’t know what is.

Elections have consequences, they say. And those consequences are already underway for the debate on privacy and religious liberty. The media is starting to sniff out the changes on the local level, especially when it comes to the tug-of-war over special rights for transgenders. In a new piece from The Hill, reporters point out that in this young legislative session, states have introduced a whopping 70 bills — not just to stop the runaway gender-free bathroom and shower train, but also to give people the right to hold views against them in the first place. Of course, Texas’s Privacy Act is ground zero in the fight over women and children’s safety, but the pushback is exploding in other states too, including Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina and Washington.

Like most people, FRC’s director of State and Local Affairs, Quena Gonzalez, thinks the Left has overplayed its hand on the debate. After President Obama threw open the public school shower stalls to anyone and everyone, angry parents rose up to protest from coast to coast. Now their indignation is spilling over to politics, where more state leaders are being pressured to do something about what even Democrats see as a real threat to students’ safety. This is, as Quena called it, a serious “repudiation of the radical attempt of the Left to redefine marriage and sex and ram it down everyone’s throats.”

And in most cases, this has a profound effect on religious liberty. “There’s a groundswell of opposition to having folks sued and railroaded and being forced to toe an ideological line. People should have a right of conscience whether or not they agree with the Supreme Court’s redefinition of marriage.” A growing number of other states — Alabama, Oklahoma, Virginia, Washington and Illinois — are tackling that issue too. On both topics, Americans are tired of being punished for their beliefs. This is their way of saying “enough!” By the tens of thousands, they’re calling on elected officials closest to them to take action.

None of this should come as a surprise to the Left. Last year’s polling made it quite clear how significant these issues would turn out to be. And not just with the usual Christian crowd. Let’s not forget The Washington Post headline, “Rust Belt Dems Broke for Trump Because They Thought Clinton Cared More about Bathrooms Than Jobs.” As one local chairman complained, “Look, I’m as progressive as anybody, okay? But people in the heartland thought the Democratic Party cared more about where someone else went to the restroom than whether they had a good-paying job.” That all helped drive Trump voters to the polls, 59 percent of whom cast ballots for the Republican based on the GOP’s platform on religious freedom.

If something was driving Hillary Clinton’s transgender agenda, it wasn’t public opinion! National and state battleground surveys showed strong opposition to Obama’s school edict. A WPA research survey that FRC commissioned found two-thirds of American adults opposed his bathroom and shower mandate — including nearly half of Democratic voters. Even the left-leaning Quinnipiac University poll reported only 36 percent of Ohio voters supported it. What about North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory’s defeat, the Left counters? While LGBT activists managed to take out one leader who stood up to the Obama administration’s bathroom policy, that wasn’t the only factor in the North Carolina race. How else do you explain that Lt. Governor Dan Forest (R), who was just as out front on H.B. 2 actually increased his support base — outpolling Trump and helping Republicans pick up the seats they needed in the Senate to give them a veto-proof majority?

Also, consider what happens when the public has a voice! In Houston, Texas, one of the few Democratic strongholds in the state, voters overwhelmingly rejected the city council’s gender-confused bathroom policy, crushing the ordinance by a 61-39 percent margin. Obviously, the states understand what liberals do not: Privacy and religious liberty issues aren’t just important issues — they’re winning ones!

Originally published here.

‘Free’ Speech? Not When It Costs Your Tax Exemption!

The First Amendment according to liberals: “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech — except when it comes to pastors and churches.” Of course, that’s not what the Constitution says, but the Left’s done a great job pretending it does! The fact of the matter is that Christians — or any believers — don’t check their free speech at the parking lot of their church. And the same is true of pastors. Their rights don’t disappear the second the pulpit mic goes live.

Unfortunately, that’s what many pastors who speak out on the moral issues of the day have been led to believe by anti-Christian zealots using the threat of an IRS audits or loss of tax exemption. For the last several years, that’s been the unintended effect of the Johnson Amendment, a 63-year-old piece of the U.S. tax code. Under the liberal administrations like Obama’s, the measure has become just another way for the Left to crack down on pastors’ ability to speak openly about political issues and candidates. That was never its intent, as conservative religious organizations like FRC and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) have argued for the last couple of decades.

And now, after years of IRS intimidation, working with Congress and President Trump, we’re ready to do something about it. Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA) think its high time someone clarified the law — which is exactly what their Free Speech Fairness Act aims to do. Instead of abolishing the amendment, it fixes it so that the IRS can’t be used as a club to beat believers over the head. As ADF’s Erik Stanley explains for The Wall Street Journal, “The Free Speech Fairness Act would get the IRS out of the speech-police business while prohibiting political expenditures or contributions by tax-exempt organizations. It would provide a relief valve for speech by allowing all charities to speak on political issues, as long as the speech is done in the course of carrying out the group’s regular activities. Because the bill doesn’t allow for political contributions or expenditures, dark money can’t flow through exempt organizations to campaigns.” In other words, churches would still be barred from acting like a political PAC or directly influencing elections, but they could talk openly about the values and positions of certain candidates or campaigns.

But not everyone is excited about ending this era of selective censorship. Editors at the Charlotte Observer did their best to muddle the issue in a piece that openly distorts the debate to score political points. “If there is a problem with religious speech, it isn’t that faith leaders are muzzled — but that their speech is too frequently subsidized by the taxpayer despite the Johnson Amendment. Rather than eliminating the Johnson Amendment, federal officials need to start enforcing it with more vigor.” That’s a ridiculous assertion, as FRC has countered before. “Contrary to an argument made frequently by liberal critics of the church tax exemption, the exemption is neither sponsorship of religion nor a subsidy for churches. In Walz v. Tax Commission of the City of New York (1970), Chief Justice Warren Burger wrote that ‘the grant of a tax exemption is not sponsorship since the government does not transfer part of its revenue to churches but simply abstains from demanding that the church support the state.’”

At its core, this is driven by the Left’s collectivist view that the government owns everything — and out of generosity allows us to keep what it determines is equitable. On the contrary, our freedoms come from God and God alone. As I said Saturday on CNN, the church predates our government. It was because of the church and the desire for freedom that our government was in fact birthed. Like others in the media, the Observer’s editorial is just further evidence of the discredited press fearful of its growing irrelevance. There was a time in this country, not too long ago, when people looked to the pulpit and not the press to gain a better understanding of how to deal with the events of the world around them. While changing the Johnson Amendment won’t correct that overnight, it will hopefully at least put us on a path toward Bible-believing and preaching churches led by pastors who fear God more than man to once again preach the whole counsel of God and give direction to the nation.

Originally published here.

The Price Is Right Where He’s Supposed to Be

The Senate got an early start on its Friday (or a late end to its Thursday) by confirming Obamacare’s biggest threat to head up the Department of Health and Human Services around 2 a.m.: Georgia Rep. Tom Price. After a confirmation battle that should have never been controversial, Democrats pouted about the new appointment, insisting, like Congresswoman Maria Cantwell (WA), “This is the first vote in the dismantling of the Affordable Care Act.”

Let’s hope so! Tom Price has been a friend to FRC and the family throughout his six terms in Washington. We’re excited to see him take that same commitment to America’s well-being to one of the most powerful agencies in the country. As the 23rd HHS Secretary in U.S. history, Tom has an opportunity to leave a lasting mark on the pro-life movement, patient care and the country’s overall fiscal health. We at FRC look forward to working with him as he does! Congratulations, Mr. Secretary!

Originally published here.

##ProtestPP!

Why leave all of the protesting to the Left? You can join rallies across America today against the country’s largest abortion business, Planned Parenthood! Now that the new 115th Congress is moving to strip Planned Parenthood of its millions in taxpayer dollars, Americans are standing with their leaders to call on the defunding of Cecile Richards’s group. On February 11, pro-lifers like you will take to the streets to demand our government stops funding an organization that specializes in killing children. Join the movement at the Planned Parenthood facility in your community as we protest and pray for an end to Planned Parenthood’s massive government subsidy and an end to abortion in our country. For details, visit ProtestPP.com. And don’t forget to tweet about the event with the hashtag ##ProtestPP!

Originally published here.

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This is a publication of the Family Research Council. Mr. Perkins is president of FRC.