6/30/16 SB 1146 attacking Christian colleges advances
SAVECALIFORNIA.COM NEWS RELEASE
June 30, 2016 -- For Immediate Release
SB 1146 attacking Christian colleges advances
Democrat-controlled California Assembly Judiciary Committee approves
Sacramento, California -- The Democrats that control the California Assembly Judiciary Committee have passed SB 1146 to redefine Christianity at Christian-format colleges.
This afternoon (Thursday, June 30, 2016), SB 1146 was approved on a party-line vote, with Democrats in favor and Republicans opposed, with the exception of Republican Brian Maienschein of San Diego not voting.
"The First Amendment sets out religious and secular spheres, and we need to keep them separate," said committee member James Gallagher, a Yuba City Republican. "We don't want government involved in religion and we don't want religion controlling government, right? But with this bill, no matter what you do, you're going to infringe on a religious sphere and have the government deciding what is religious and what is not."
Another Republican committee member, Donald Wagner of Irvine, said SB 1146 "betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of what faith is." Wagner said, "Faith is a way of life. Faith comes first." He said SB 1146 "derives from a thoroughly flawed perspective" by prohibiting and punishing Christian colleges' religious principles and practices.
SB 1146 allows students to file lawsuits against their religious-based colleges, challenging the colleges' right to have Biblical standards on sexuality, gender, and marriage in admissions, housing, employment, student counseling, and outside groups allowed on campus.
For example, the bill forces Christian colleges to allow homosexual and transsexual activists on campus to challenge students' moral beliefs. SB 1146 would permit homosexual-couple housing and transsexual-policy restrooms on campus, and likely prohibit counseling a student to overcome homosexuality. And SB 1146 would prohibit Christian colleges from firing a professor who becomes a homosexual or transsexual activist, indoctrinating students to support sin.
"SB 1146 is passing because too many colleges and other well-meaning opponents of the bill have made the mistake of lobbying the author, who's made his tyrannical bill a little less onerous with each amendment, enabling it to advance by sleight of hand," said Randy Thomasson, president of SaveCalifornia.com, a statewide pro-child, pro-family organization that promotes moral virtues for the common good. "If Christian colleges want SB 1146 defeated, they need to unapologetically mobilize every single supporter to call and demand SB 1146 be defeated, and they must launch bold religious-freedom campaigns with students in key Assembly districts this summer. Take advantage of this being an election year!"
SB 1146 will next be heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee in August when the Legislature returns from its month-long recess.
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