Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott called on Houston city attorney Dave Feldman on Oct. 16 to withdraw subpoenas requiring five pastors to submit their sermons to his office in regard to litigation against a new Houston Equal Rights Ordinance’s protections based on sexual orientation.
The pastors are part of a petition effort to repeal the ordinance, known as HERO among its supporters.
“Your aggressive and invasive subpoenas show no regard for the very serious First Amendment considerations at stake,” Abbott wrote in the letter addressed to Feldman.
In a news conference Oct. 15, Houston Mayor Annise Parker and Feldman admitted the wording of the subpoenas was “overly broad” but claimed they had no knowledge of the documents before Oct. 14 because the subpoenas had been issued in September by a law firm assisting in the litigation.
But that statement does not ring true for Erik Stanley, an Alliance Defending Freedom attorney representing the five pastors. It is disconcerting that attorneys for three of Houston’s most powerful law firms did not consider the First Amendment implications of the subpoenas, Stanley noted.
Stanley filed a brief with the Harris County District Court on Oct. 10 asking that the subpoenas be quashed. The request would give the pastors a reprieve from the threat of fines or imprisonment for contempt of court for noncompliance.
Critics nationwide called the subpoenas a “fishing expedition” that will have a chilling effect on anyone seeking redress with city hall. And the move illustrates a key objection members of the No UNequal Rights Coalition have with HERO — government intrusion into the life and work of the local church.
The ordinance, passed in May, gives protected status to individuals based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. It requires public accommodations be made for individuals based on their gender identity, not biology. Although churches are exempt from the law, critics charge it would force parachurch organizations, businesses and individuals to violate their religious convictions in accommodating the law. Parker, a lesbian, championed the ordinance saying its passage was deeply personal.
Requested material
Included among the 17 categories of requested material in the subpoenas is “all speeches, presentations or sermons related to HERO, the petition, Mayor Annise Parker, homosexuality or gender identity prepared by, delivered by, revised by or approved by you or in your possession.”
The subpoenaed pastors — Dave Welch, executive director of the Houston Area Pastor Council; Steve Riggle of Grace Community Church; Khanh Huynh of Vietnamese Baptist Church; Magda Hermida of Magda Hermida Ministries and Hernan Castano of Rios de Aceite — are not plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the city but have been outspoken in their opposition to the ordinance as members of the No UNequal Rights Coalition.
‘Sermons are fair game’
Although Parker claimed ignorance about the subpoenas, a day earlier she posted on her Twitter feed, “If the five pastors used pulpits for politics, their sermons are fair game. Were instructions given on filling out anti-HERO petition?”
At the news conference, Feldman said the court order for sermons has been “construed” as an effort to infringe on religious liberties.
“All of this hysteria about how we’re trying to infringe — all because of the use of the word ‘sermon’ — is really ridiculous.”
The pastors targeted by the subpoenas are part of a racially diverse association of pastors united in their effort to repeal the ordinance. Unable to stop its passage by city council in May, the No UNequal Rights Coalition was formed to organize a referendum to put the ordinance to a vote by the city.
More than 50,000 signatures were gathered in the petition drive — far more than the 17,269 needed to put the issue on the November ballot. The requisite number of signatures was certified by City Secretary Anna Russell. But three days later, with only hours left in the city’s deadline for certifying the petitions, Feldman summarily disqualified thousands of signatures alleging they did not meet city charter standards.
The coalition sued the city demanding Russell’s certification protocol be followed. The case goes to trial in January. The subpoenaed sermons and pastor-church member communications are part of the city’s discovery proceedings.
(Baptist Press)
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Baptists join forces in opposition to subpoenas
Baptists set aside differences in an Oct. 15 letter opposing subpoenas ordering five Houston pastors to turn over sermons as evidence in a lawsuit seeking repeal of the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance.
Top leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF), Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT) and Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (SBTC) signed a letter to city officials terming the issuing of subpoenas of sermons as “improper and unwarranted” and asking Mayor Annise Parker to acknowledge it was a mistake.
According to a press release, the coalition was organized by Russell Moore, president of the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, working with Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty.
It marked a rare show of unity among diverse groups typically defined by their differences.
Individuals signing the letter, in addition to Moore and Walker, include Frank Page, president of the SBC Executive Committee, and CBF Executive Coordinator Suzii Paynter.
Both David Hardage, executive director of the BGCT, and Jim Richards, executive director of the SBTC, added their signatures.
Robert Sloan, president of Houston Baptist University, and Gus Reyes, director of the BGCT Christian Life Commission, also signed.
(Baptist News Global)
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