Houston mayor Annise Parker announced this morning that she is withdrawing the subpoenas that were issued to five local pastors, Christianity Today reported.
Parker said, "It was never our intention to interfere with clergy and their congregants. I don't want to have a national debate on freedom of religion when my purpose is to defend … a city ordinance."
The decision to repeal the subpoenas came after Parker had two meetings yesterday, one with local pastors and another with national clergy, according to The Houston Chronicle.
Parker was adamant in stating that decision was made for the sake of Houston and not because the requests were illegal or intended to intrude on religious rights, she said.
“I didn’t do this to satisfy them,” she said, referring to the critics. “I did it because it was not serving Houston.”
Former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee was very vocal in his opposition of the subpoenas. Huckabee, along with conservative radio and television host and author Glenn Beck and Texas Senator Ted Cruz, encouraged like-minded individuals to send Bibles and religious texts to Houston city Hall, according to Independent Journal Review.
According to The Blaze, the city hall received approximately a thousand Bibles. Sources stated that Parker will be donating the Bibles to the city, via the police force or directly to local churches.
The subpoenas were part of a suit filed involving the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO). The five pastors subpoenaed led a petition against the ordinance.
The repeal of the subpoenas, however, is not the end of ordinance.
Parker said, “We are going to continue to vigorously defend our ordinance against repeal efforts."
The five pastors collectively said the petition was a defense of First Amendment rights.
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