“The Equality Act” and “For the People Act”

Below are explanations of two dangerous bills that are working their way through the process of becoming law. Thrive Church feels these bills are especially dangerous to the religious freedoms we enjoy in the United States and as a church family. Regardless of partisanship, we feel our biblical responsibility is to stand with the literal interpretation of the Bible when it comes to sexuality. We also feel it is important for us to retain the freedoms our Constitution provides in the area of voting and elections. These two bills dangerously strip the American People - and, more specifically, Christians - of their freedoms to adhere to a Biblical standard. Please read the descriptions below (found on the “My Faith Votes” website) and then use the links provided to send correspondence to your senators to ask them to vote against these bills. We feel it is important for our congregation to have the opportunity to make our voices heard in this important moment in our Nation’s history.

-Pastor Kevin Drake, Lead Pastor

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"The Equality Act"

The House of Representatives voted 224 to 206 on February 25, 2021, to push forward the Equality Act (H.R. 5). It will now be sent to the Senate for a vote. With an evenly divided Senate, this dangerous legislation now hangs in the balance. As one of his top priorities for his first 100 days in office, President Joe Biden is expected to sign the legislation into law if it is passed. It is crucial that we let our Senators know we strongly oppose this legislation.

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Our nation was founded upon the idea of equality, the truth that all of us are created equal. But the Equality Act does the exact opposite and needs to be opposed.

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While its proponents insist that the Equality Act is about “ending discrimination,” it would in fact fundamentally alter the legal definition of sex to include sexual orientation and gender identity. The legislation would also undermine the Religious Freedom Restoration Act by conferring special status on gay rights, prioritizing them over religious freedom and conscience rights.

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The bill, which the Catholic League’s Bill Donahue called “the most comprehensive assault on Christianity ever written into law,” would be used “as a sword to persecute those who do not embrace new sexual and gender ideologies,” said Ryan Anderson, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. 

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The Equality Act would require healthcare providers to provide hormone therapies and surgical procedures that are required to change the physical characteristics associated with sex changes, without regard for the beliefs of healthcare workers.

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The expansion of rights to transgender women — biological males who identify as female — would come at the expense of rights for biological females. Boys and men would be allowed to compete in sports with girls and women, thus unfairly altering women’s athletics.

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The Equality Act would overhaul our federal civil rights framework to mandate abortion access and special privileges for sexual orientation and gender identity, leaving many to suffer the consequences, including women, children, medical professionals, and people of faith.

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Christians cannot afford to be silent on this policy. The Equality Act is disguised with positive words that will seek to destroy sex and gender as God defined (Genesis 1:26-28) and disrupt religious freedom as we know it.

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S1 "For The People Act"

The House recently passed the For the People Act; it is anything BUT for the people. As Christians and Americans, we must unite together to DEMAND the Senate reject S1.

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WHY YOU NEED TO ACT NOW:

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S1 is legislation that hurts America and silences Americans:

• Buried in the bill is a program to pay politicians $6 from the federal government for every qualifying $1 raised on the campaign trail!

• The 800-page bill centralizes power, robbing the states of their responsibility to administer and manage elections — eliminating vital safeguards to liberty by entrusting the federal government with all of the authority over elections.

• The legislation also violates the First Amendment of the Constitution by limiting free speech. It would expand regulation and impose restrictions that would ultimately censor political speech from citizens, non-profits, unions, and more.

• It would require non-profit organizations to disclose their donors' names to the federal government, which would then be shared with the public. In the “cancel culture” we live in, this would put donors at risk of intimidation and discrimination by those who do not share their beliefs on issues such as the sanctity of life, marriage and family, and religious freedom.

To put it plainly, the legislation, if passed, limits Free Speech, centralizes power, and jeopardizes the integrity of our elections.

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It Must Be Stopped Now… And You Can Help!

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S1 is one of the most severe attacks on our Constitutional Republic we have seen in our lifetime. It’s a welfare program for the politicians’ campaigns and it threatens the very foundation of our government, our election process, and our First Amendment rights.

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