The religious right to decline any compulsion

For almost ten years now, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the State of Washington have targeted an elderly, small-town florist named Barronelle Stutzman. The case began when Barronelle declined to serve a long-time customer’s gay wedding. A few months ago, Barronelle, now 77, filed a request for a final rehearing of her religious liberty case with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of her business, Arlene’s Flowers.

This week, the ACLU offered, and Barronelle accepted, a five-thousand-dollar settlement. It’s a surprisingly small amount, given how long Barronelle has lived under the threat of losing her business, assets, and life savings due to exorbitant legal fees and penalties.

Maybe the ACLU has finally seen their case for what it is: petty bullying. Or, maybe they think the optics of bullying a grandmother are just bad. Either way, Barronelle has wisely, I believe, accepted the settlement. Here’s a review of the important facts of the case.

In 2014, Barronelle told a long-time customer and friend that she couldn’t create a floral arrangement for his wedding to another man. Throughout their many years of friendship, Barronelle had served this customer with her creative talents. However, due to her Christian beliefs about marriage, she couldn’t, in good conscience, create an arrangement for this occasion.

The friend said he understood the decision and asked for referrals for other florists. Barronelle recommended three. The two embraced, and then said goodbye.

All was quiet until the Attorney General for the State of Washington saw a social media post about the incident and decided to sue Barronelle for discrimination. In 2015, a trial court found her guilty of violating Washington’s anti-discrimination law. The Court also ordered her to pay a $1,000 fine and the ACLU’s legal fees, and to no longer accept wedding business unless she also agreed to serve gay weddings.

Her appeal to the State Supreme Court drew so much interest that oral arguments were held in a local college auditorium. The State Supreme Court ruled unanimously against Stutzman, citing Justice Anthony Kennedy’s Obergefell language and even claiming that to not service a same-sex wedding is to “disrespect and subordinate” gays and lesbians. The court also ruled that floral arrangements weren’t “speech” but instead “conduct,” and that even if the State had violated Barronelle’s right to free exercise, it was fair and legal to do so because they’d do it to everyone. In other words, they weren’t just singling out Barronelle.

From the beginning, Barronelle has been represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). In 2018, ADF appealed the Washington State court ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. After finding the State of Colorado guilty of animus toward the religious beliefs of baker Jack Phillips in a similar case, the Supreme Court vacated the Washington State Court decision and ordered them to re-examine Barronelle’s case. Not about to admit it had done anything wrong, the Washington State Court upheld their ruling against Barronelle.

Last year, ADF appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. In a baffling move, the Court declined to hear her case. ADF asked the Court to reconsider, something that rarely happens after denial.

Earlier this week, Barronelle accepted the ACLU’s settlement offer. This means she can retire in peace, having more than earned the right to step off the legal treadmill and out of the media spotlight, which she never sought. And, to be clear, not once did she compromise or violate her conscience throughout this whole ordeal. Instead, her courage, kindness, and long obedience have laid the groundwork for the kind of legal resistance against coercion that will certainly have to continue.

Barronelle now passes the baton in this important battle to protect religious freedom to the rest of us, especially to web designer Lorie Smith. Her case could go before the U.S. Supreme Court soon. The 10th Circuit ruled last summer that the State of Colorado could compel Lorie’s business, 303 Creative, to create websites with speech that violates her religious beliefs.

It’s impossible to know how many business owners, artists, and others have found courage for their own convictions by watching Barronelle. Her saga has made it clear to the rest of us that this kind of thing can really happen in the United States, and to say that religious liberty is under threat in this country cannot be dismissed as hyperbolic fear-mongering.

It’s also important to note that Barronelle made her original decision not only out of her own beliefs, but out of her concern for her friend, Rob. Barronelle was not willing to aid and abet behavior that was damaging to her friend’s soul. In other words, it is not only loving God, but also loving our neighbor, that will require courage in the days to come.

Stonestreet/Baer

Socialists and Seattle elections

BobOne, our satellite blogger in Seattle, submits the following opinion

Rank & file Democrats believe that government can take care of social problems  - it can't.  Elite Democrats in government think they are entitled to control society - which is why freedom dies.

Pretty sure the use of 'Democrats' and 'think' in the same sentence violates several basic tenets - Magna Carta, Constitution (42nd Amendment), T'Logica of Vulcan, Motorcycle helmet regulations, the instruction tag on my mattress, Ohm's law....

At least Seattle took a couple tiny steps away from utter bats++t socialism in last week's election.

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Socialists don't care if the poor get poorer ... that's okay with them.  They just want to make the rich get poorer.   As long as the socialists are in control of the misery.

Washington State citizens' petition available now

Stop the income tax

The state legislature enacted an illegal tax on personal income.  Although the legislature claims the income tax is directed only at the ultra-rich, don't believe it.  If the legislature is will to enact an illegal tax, they certainly won't be bothered by lying about their intent to 'tax only the rich.'

We the People are opposing this tax with a citizens initiative petition, Initiative 1408.  This measure would prohibit the state, counties, and cities from imposing or collecting taxes it describes as “based on personal income,” and repeal a tax on certain sales of long-term capital assets.

Stop Olympia's ever expanding appetite for our money.  Get copies of the petition from https://permanentoffense.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1408PetitionPDF.pdf

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Stop the new payroll tax expansion

Starting January 1st, Olympia will raise your payroll taxes hundreds of dollars each year for a new program that will give you little, or nothing, in return.

I-1436 allows you to opt in — OR OPT OUT — of participating in Olympia’s new long-term care tax at any time. The choice of providing for your future stays in YOUR hands… not the government’s.

Imagine a retirement program that forces you to pay in, but you receive no benefits if you retire within 10 years.
Or a program that takes away your benefits if you move to another state (you can’t take it with you).
Or a program with NO income cap — even Social Security and Medicare don’t do that!
Or a program that taxes you for your entire working life while your benefits for a family are limited and could last less than a year.

Get petition copies.  Join the effort to stop Olympia ever expanding tax affair.  Initiative website - https://www.yeson1436.com/. 

Washington State Redistricting Commission Update

An update on the current redistricting commission progress.  More accurately, this is an update on the links leading to the updates of the progress being made on redistricting everyone in the state.  The maps must be finalized by Nov. 15 — or the process will be referred to the Washington State Supreme Court — there is still time to submit your suggestions to the commission.

Commission Proposed Maps:  Each commissioner on the redistricting commission proposed a redistricting district map reflecting that commissioner's political interests. Thus each link on the page will lead you to a different map proposed by only that one commissioner and generally different from the other commissioners and even differing from that commissioner's previous proposals.  This is an untidy process.  If you want to get into the thick of it, this link takes you to the front page of the whole redistricting process  https://www.redistricting.wa.gov/.

This is a public process -- each proposal can by commented on by the public.  It takes time to wade through the proposals.

Each commissioner's individual proposed congressional maps - https://www.redistricting.wa.gov/proposed-congressional-maps

Each commissioner's individual proposed legislative Maps - https://www.redistricting.wa.gov/commissioner-proposed-maps
 

Official Religious Intolerance in Washington State

Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission has been enormously successful in ministering to the city’s homeless population. Two years after program completion, 70 percent of Mission clients are working or going to school full time. Yet the Mission’s employees will freely say that success is just a byproduct of their most important priority: bringing others into relationship with Jesus Christ. It is that focus which makes the Mission so spectacularly successful.

It works. Mission workers serve over 1,000 of their homeless neighbors each day. And, again, of the many hurting people who take part in the Mission’s programs each year, about 70 percent are on the right track and either working or in school. It would be difficult to find another organization making such a positive impact in such a difficult area. And in a city where nearly 12,000 homeless individuals crowd the streets every night, that kind of success is vital not only to the lives of those on the streets, but to the well-being of the city itself.

Of course, a philosophy only works if everyone involved buys into it, which is why the Mission requires all full-time employees to share and live out their Christian religious beliefs, be actively involved in a local church, and be willing and able to share the Gospel with those whom they serve.

In 2016, though, a former volunteer decided to apply for a full-time position with the Mission’s legal-aid clinic — despite the fact that he did not agree with the Mission’s religious beliefs or follow its religious-lifestyle requirements. In fact, he wanted to change the Mission’s beliefs and dismiss the very faith that has spurred its remarkable success.

Understandably, the Mission turned down his application. The applicant opted to take the Mission to court, hoping to find a judge who would punish the organization for declining to hire him. He struck gold at the Washington Supreme Court, where all nine justices ruled in his favor, despite the legislature’s exclusion of religious nonprofits from state employment law.

In doing so, the state’s highest court effectively torpedoed a religious freedom that the federal government and nearly every other state protects: the ability of religious organizations to hire those who share and live out the organization’s beliefs. This ruling puts the Mission to an untenable choice: hire someone who has stated his intent to change the organization’s beliefs or shut its doors to the homeless neighbors who rely on the Mission for help.

This ruling is unconstitutional. Which is why the Mission has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their case. The Mission — like the thousands of vulnerable individuals that it serves — depends on the nation’s highest court upholding the right of religious organizations to build and sustain organizations of believers who share the same faith.

(John Bursch - National Review, edited)

Critical Race Theory and the Washington teachers’ union

The largest labor union in Washington state, the Washington Education Association (WEA), represents nearly 100,000 teachers and support staff in Washington’s K-12 system. It is also one of the biggest forces for transforming taxpayer-funded government schools into indoctrination and recruitment centers for leftist activism.

While it has been true for decades, recent events have awakened many parents to the reality that the values and interests of teachers’ unions do not align with those of their families. Perhaps the biggest driving force behind this realization is the concerted effort to saturate government schools with the toxic and divisive ideology of critical race theory (CRT).

In August, the Freedom Foundation documented how the National Education Association (NEA) — the nation’s largest teachers’ union — had gone all-in backing CRT as a way to advance a far-left political agenda under the guise of fighting racism.

A review of WEA’s statements and materials confirms that the NEA affiliate is every bit as invested in CRT as the Washington, D.C., headquarters.

(Freedom Foundation)

 

Seattle Elementary School Cancels Halloween Celebration

This is not a move for COVID safety, Benjamin Franklin Elementary said.  No.  Instead. the Halloween Celebration marginalizes people of color.

"Following five years of deliberation about the future of the school’s annual pumpkin parade, Benjamin Franklin Elementary School has decided to nix the holiday tradition this year on the advice of the school’s Racial Equity Team (The Daily Wire)."

"The spokesperson says other Seattle schools have also canceled Halloween festivities recently. She claims Black students, particularly males, do not celebrate the secular holiday. The decision was meant to protect them from feeling marginalized."

"'Historically, the Pumpkin Parade marginalizes students of color who do not celebrate the holiday,' the spokesperson claimed. 'Specifically, these students have requested to be isolated on campus while the event took place. In alliance with SPS’s unwavering commitment to students of color, specifically African American males, the staff is committed to supplanting the Pumpkin Parade with more inclusive and educational opportunities during the school day' (MyNorthwest)."

Mental Health Telephone and your phone

The Federal Communications Commission has mandated that everyone must dial all 10 digits of a telephone number, even for local calls.  This is being done to facilitate new 988, three dgit number, to be used to reach the National Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Lifeline.  The three digit number for the crisis line will start operating on July 16, 2022.  Users will still have to dial the current number 1-800-273-TALK (8255) until then.

The suicide prevention line required a new tax on phone service in Washington State, which the legislature enacted as HB 1477 - 2021-22 (text).  The tax is 24 cents per line per month between October 1, 2021, and December 31, 2022, and is increased to 40 cents per line per month beginning January 1, 2023.  All forms of voice communication are subject to the tax.

Impolite research could not find published results on the effectiveness of using telephone mental health services. 

 

Initiative No. 1408 - No Taxes Based On Personal Income Act

The 2021 Washington State Legislature passed ESSB 5096 which created a 7% tax on the sale or exchange of long-term capital assets.    This tax seems to apply to rich guys only.  But leaked documents show it will be used as a wedge to introduce a general tax on income.  

There was a bill prohibiting taxes based on personal income was introduced duringthe 2021 legislative session in Olympia. Unfortunately, it was not considered.

Now, here, this initiative is being proposed so that the 2022 legislature will consider it. If that legislature does not pass this initiative into law, the voters may do so on November 8, 2022.

Washington  voters  have  voted  10  times  against  state  taxes  based  on personal income. The most recent time was in 2010, when large majorities of voters in all 39 counties—and 64 percent of voters, statewide — rejected Initiative 1098 (A former income tax proposal).

Initiative text link

I will support this initiative.  To make a petition in Washington State is a complicated process.   To get understanding of the process and applications, examine the Washington State Constitution, Article II, Section 1, paragraphs (a), (b), (c) & (d) (WA Constitution link)

The initiative does not have a website yet -- the legislature gets to act, or fail to act, first.. I will post the link.  Most likely we will get a chance to vote for I-1408 in 2022. 
I-1408 will give Washington voters  the  opportunity  to  reaffirm their strong, long-standing opposition to taxes based on personal income. 

Insurance Commissioner Kreidler increased your insurance rates

Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler issued an "emergency rule" banning the use of credit scoring in calculating insurance rates.  This rule went into effect on June 20. Many of you may now be seeing an increase in your home, auto or renter's insurance rates.

Commissioner Kreidler couldn't get any traction with his bill last legislative session, so he decided to use the emergency rule to get around the Legislature. The bill could not make it out of committee in the Senate. There was and is clearly bipartisan opposition to the rule as exhibited by two recent opinion-editorials.

In The Seattle Times, Sen. Mark Mullet said: “Adding on to families' economic burdens is often unwise. But to do so amid the ongoing hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic is downright cruel — and the blame sits squarely on the desk of state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler.” 

Rep. Brandon Vick also penned an opinion-editorial in The Columbian. In it, he concluded: “If your rates went up, blame Commissioner Kreidler. If you want to do something about it, tell the commissioner how upset you are and then contact your legislators.” 

• OPINION: Your insurance premiums should not rise needlessly (Democratic Sen. Mark Mullet, chairs the Senate Business, Financial Services and Trade Committee/The Seattle Times)
• OPINION: Who is causing rate increases? (Republican Rep. Brandon Vick, ranking minority member on the House Consumer Protection and Business Committee/The Columbian)

Kreidler's actions are another example of abusing emergency rules and why we need emergency powers reforms. His actions are adding unnecessary costs on to families as we continue through the hardship of the pandemic.

- Rep. Keith Goehner