Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Religious freedom

Transgender offender threatened girls in bathrooms and plotted attacks on schools and churches
The Daily Signal, Approved, Commentary, National

Transgender offender threatened girls in bathrooms and plotted attacks on schools and churches

By Tyler O’Neil | Commentary, The Daily Signal What if I told you a man who identifies as a “transgender woman” threatened to victimize girls in girls’ bathrooms, shoot up schools, and bomb churches? Would that make you more likely to support efforts to investigate whether some people who identify as transgender pose a terrorist threat? Most Americans haven’t heard the name of Jason Lee Willie, a man who identifies as female and goes by the name Alexia, but his case highlights the unnerving possibility that many people who identify as transgender may pose a violent threat to their fellow Americans. Americans are more familiar with the man identifying as a woman who killed two and injured 17 at a Minneapolis Catholic school last month before taking his own life....
Air Force admits decorated pilot suffered religious discrimination over COVID vaccine mandate
Just The News, Approved, National

Air Force admits decorated pilot suffered religious discrimination over COVID vaccine mandate

By Natalia Mittelstadt | Just the News The Air Force Review Board found that pilot “was discriminated against on the basis of religion" for objection to orders to take the COVID vaccination. On “all fronts, this is a huge win,” pilot's attorney R. Davis Younts said. The Air Force found that a pilot who faced separation from the military for requesting a religious exemption to the flu vaccine was discriminated against for his religion and should not have been reprimanded. Major Brennan Schilperoort, who has served in the Air Force for 17 years and was a whistleblower over the COVID-19 vaccine, can now request the military branch give him backpay and restore his flight status after he was reprimanded when his Religious Accommodation Request (RAR) wasn’t processed. Schilperoo...
Douglas County sheriff defies Freedom From Religion Foundation after it targeted Grandparents4Kids story hour
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

Douglas County sheriff defies Freedom From Religion Foundation after it targeted Grandparents4Kids story hour

By Steve McKenna, Grandparents4Kids Board Member | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice A funny thing happened on my way to my 60s. Concepts of tolerance my parents, teachers, and others taught me as a child evolved. In the 1960s, tolerance meant accepting others, not persecuting them because they were different from you or your friends. Now, in my 60s, it seems more about persecuting those who fail to tolerate to the satisfaction of a bullying minority of ideologues. Case in point. To celebrate “See You at the Library” on July 16, Grandparents4Kids, a nonpolitical group I am fortunate to be a part of, planned to have Douglas County Deputy Sheriff read Kevin Sorbo’s book “The Test of Lionhood” at a story hour presented at, but not sponsored by, the Highlands Ranch library. The book...
When the world mocks prayer Christians must pray even harder
The Federalist, Approved, Commentary, National

When the world mocks prayer Christians must pray even harder

By Theodore Hoham | Commentary, The Federalist This week, we join with the universal church in praying for the students and families of Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis after another shooting targeted at Christians. It’s horrifying to hear about another act of violence against children who bear the name of Christ. It’s also horrible to realize we’ve somehow become accustomed to hearing about such things. Increasingly, it seems that these “random acts” are not random at all but intentionally directed at those little ones who confess faith in Jesus Christ and in the truth of his holy Word. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, for our Shepherd has told us that “a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20)....
Catholic school shooting sparks hate crime probe and national outrage
The Western Journal, Approved, National

Catholic school shooting sparks hate crime probe and national outrage

By Randy DeSoto |The Western Journal Homeland Security Secretary Krisi Noem on Wednesday said the gunman who preyed on Minneapolis Catholic schoolchildren was a self-proclaimed transgender individual, while FBI Director Kash Patel said the incident will be investigated as domestic terrorism. Two children were killed and 17 people — 14 of them children — were wounded in an attack on Annunciation Church in Minneapolis on Wednesday. The shooter, who fired through the church’s windows on Annunciation School children within, later killed himself. “We have confirmation that the shooter at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, MN was a 23 year-old man, claiming to be transgender,” Noem posted on X. “This deranged monster targeted our most vulnerable: young childr...
Federal Judge Blocks Colorado Ban on Abortion Pill Reversal
State, Approved, Live Action News

Federal Judge Blocks Colorado Ban on Abortion Pill Reversal

By Nancy Flanders | Live Action News According to the legal group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a Colorado district court issued an order on Friday to permanently block a state law prohibiting medical professionals from providing women with the option of ‘abortion pill reversal’ (APR). Key Takeaways: On August 1, Colorado District Court Judge Daniel D. Domenico ordered a permanent injunction on SB23-190, the Colorado law banning the administration of ‘abortion pill reversal.’  The state has 30 days to appeal the decision to the Tenth Circuit. ‘Abortion pill reversal’ uses progesterone in an attempt to outcompete the effects of the first drug of the abortion pill. The Details: Colorado District Court Judge Daniel D. Domenico issued an order on Au...
Trump Defends Religious Rights of Federal Workers With New Guidance
National, Approved, Fox News

Trump Defends Religious Rights of Federal Workers With New Guidance

By Brooke Singman | Fox News OPM Director Kupor issued a memo ensuring federal workers can display Bibles, crucifixes, or mezuzahs on their desks; and more FIRST ON FOX: Federal agencies are now required to protect religious expression in the workplace, according to a new government-wide memo obtained by Fox News Digital on Monday—marking one of the most sweeping moves in decades to defend faith and freedoms in the civil service. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on Monday sent guidance to federal agencies across the Trump administration, detailing the new requirements, which ensure federal workers can display Bibles, crucifixes, or mezuzahs on their desks; pray in groups while off-duty; invite colleagues to church; and speak about their religious beliefs, even to the ...
Christian Bookstore Sues Colorado Over Forced Speech on Gender Identity
Local, Alliance Defending Freedom, Approved

Christian Bookstore Sues Colorado Over Forced Speech on Gender Identity

By Staff | Alliance Defending Freedom COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of a Christian bookstore in Colorado seeking to uphold its religious and commonsense beliefs about biological sex. Born Again Used Books, a family-owned bookstore in Colorado Springs, is challenging a state law that recently redefined “gender expression” to include “how an individual chooses to be addressed,” that is, pronouns and titles based on gender identity rather than biological sex. Although Born Again Used Books happily sells its products to everyone, Colorado now compels the bookstore to speak using pronouns and titles based on a person’s preferred gender expression—thereby requiring the store to prioritize a person’s professed ide...
Victory for the pulpit: Religious leaders no longer face tax threats for political speech
I Stand for Freedom, Approved, National

Victory for the pulpit: Religious leaders no longer face tax threats for political speech

By Noah Stanton | I Stand For Freedom Every Sunday, millions of Americans go to church hoping to learn how to live better lives. For years, pastors have had to watch their words carefully. Say something about who to vote for, and the government might show up and take away the church’s special tax status. It’s like having a referee who can throw you out of the game for saying certain words. This hidden muzzle on church leaders has been around since 1954. Americans can speak freely almost everywhere else. But in church, the IRS could punish certain kinds of talk. Many religious people wondered: How can we have true religious freedom if our pastors can’t speak freely about today’s big issues? That question now has an answer. The Internal Revenue Service told a federal court on Monday...
“They called us hateful”: Colorado parents see their story reflected in Supreme Court ruling
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Local, Top Stories

“They called us hateful”: Colorado parents see their story reflected in Supreme Court ruling

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that public schools must allow parents to opt their children out of LGBTQ+ instruction that conflicts with their religious beliefs, BJ and Brecken Jones sat quietly in their living room—stunned, relieved and vindicated. “For years, we were treated like extremists for simply protecting our kids,” BJ said. “Now the Supreme Court says we were right all along.” For this Boulder County family, Mahmoud v. Taylor wasn’t just a legal case—it was a mirror.  Reading the Court’s opinion, BJ and Brecken saw their own experience reflected almost line for line. What they didn’t expect was that their quiet effort to opt out—rejected by school officials, scorned by activists and ultimately buried in district archi...