KANSAS: Archbishop Praises Brownback For Religous Liberty Executive Order

"We are grateful that Governor Brownback has acted so swiftly to address some of the threats to religious freedom that have taken on new urgency since the United States Supreme Court’s misguided decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. Given the far-reaching effects that redefining marriage will have on the law, and the fact that this incredibly consequential change in national social policy was effected by judicial fiat rather than the democratic process, there is tremendous uncertainty as to what the Obergefell decision will mean for everyday people just trying live their faith as they always have.

"Over the last several years, Catholic Charities in Boston, Washington D.C., and Illinois have been forced to close their adoption ministries because they will only place children in homes with a mother and father. Just last week, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industry fined the Christian owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa $135,000 for declining to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding ceremony. Now that a constitutional right to same-sex marriage has been created, these kinds of cases, already on the rise, will undoubtedly proliferate.

"Kansans who believe that every child deserves a mother and a father should not be punished by the government for that belief. We urge Governor Brownback and members of the Legislature to make the protection of religious freedom for all Kansans a top priority in the coming months. Generations of Americans have taken freedom of conscience for granted. We, sadly, do not have that luxury anymore." - Archbishop Joseph Naumann, via press release.