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Church Groups In San Antonio Fail To Put Non-Discrimination Ordinance On The Ballot

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Images like this were used by Repeal It–San Antonio to frighten voters into repealing a non-discrimination ordinance

After the San Antonio City Council passed a fully inclusive non-discrimination ordinance last month by a vote of 8-3, proponents of discrimination mobilized a recall effort to force the ordinance to a city-wide vote.  The website for the effort, Repeal It–San Antonio, contains a long list of churches (see below) involved in the effort, including Cornerstone Church, the mega-corporation run by “Pastor” John Hagee.

In order to have been successful, proponents of discrimination needed to turn in 61,046 valid signatures to their petition, equating to 10 percent of eligible city voters, by no later than 5:00 p.m., October 15, 2013. In spite of the numerous churches involved, the proponents of discrimination failed to collect enough signatures to bring the ordinance to a city wide vote.

Many of these same churches are currently leading up the charge for a recall election of Mayor Julian Castro and other council members who supported the non-discrimination ordinance. Although the group gives instruction to churches on their website as to what they can and cannot do legally, information on various church and organizational websites indicates that they are devoting their resources to these recall efforts.  If true, the churches and other organizations are in violation of the Texas Election Code which specifically prohibits exactly the conduct in which these churches are admittedly participating. Under §253.094(b) corporations (including churches) and labor organizations are prohibited from making “a political contribution or political expenditure in connection with a recall election, including the circulation and submission of a petition to call an election.” If confronted and found to be in violation of the law, the churches and other organizations leading the recall efforts may face stiff penalties, including civil liability to any candidate facing recall of twice the value of their unlawful contributions or expenditures and costs of attorney fees.

To put that potential cost into perspective, after the El Paso Texas City Council passed a similar non-discrimination ordinance, churches there led a recall effort against former El Paso Mayor John Cook.  They succeeded in obtaining the required number of signatures, and Cook sued. The County Court Judge Javier Alvarez agreed that the effort violated §253.094(b) of the Texas Election Code, but refused to stop the recall election. On appeal, the 8th Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that the state’s law must be enforced and criticized Judge Alvarez.  The effort to recall Mayor Cook died. Mayor Cook later made a claim to the City of El Paso for $700,000 in costs associated with defending the illegal recall effort.

A complete list of churches, as published on the repealitsa website, which participated in the San Antonio referendum effort follows:

  • Abundant Life Christian Church
  • Abundant Life Church (Randolph Blvd.)
  • Abundant Life Church (Vida Abundante)
  • Anchor Baptist Church
  • Believers Christian Center
  • Beth Simcha
  • Bethany Missionary Baptist Church
  • Bethel Church for the Whole Family
  • Castillo Del Ray
  • Castle Hills First Baptist Church
  • Christian Community Church
  • Christian Family Church
  • Church Under the Bridge
  • City of Refuge
  • Communion Chapel
  • Cornerstone
  • Crossbridge Community Church
  • Crownridge Church
  • Destiny Community Church
  • El Sendero Church (AOG)
  • Faith Outreach Center
  • FaithWalk Fellowship
  • Fishers of Men Motorcycle Ministry
  • Freedom Fellowship Church
  • Gateway Worship Center
  • Grace Bible Church
  • HIS Bridge Builders
  • Hope Bible Church
  • Iglesia Familia Cristiana
  • Jubilee Outreach Church
  • Kingdom Life Christian Ministries
  • The King’s Mission Fellowship
  • Life Family Church
  • Lord of the Harvest Church
  • Maranatha
  • Maranatha Bible Church
  • Medical Center Baptist church
  • Mighty Fortress Christian Church
  • Ministrios La Vina
  • My Fathers House Church
  • New Creation Christian Fellowship
  • New Life Christian Fellowship
  • Omega Church
  • The Restoration Centre
  • Town East Baptist Church
  • Restoration Door (La Puerta De Restauracion)
  • San Antonio Christian Church
  • Solid Rock Baptist Church
  • St. Paul Baptist Church
  • True Light christian fellowship
  • True Vine Baptist Church
  • University Baptist Church
  • Victory San Antonio
  • Village Parkway Baptist Church
  • Westlawn Baptist Church
  • Women’s Prayer International

 

Repeal-It-Flier-with-web-address-Oct-14

Jay Morris is a State Lead for GetEQUAL.org, a founding member of the Direct Action Network San Antonio and blogger at jaysays.com. You can find him posting randomness on Twitter or engage him in conversation on Facebook.

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News

Trump Appears to Think Jeb Bush Was President: ‘He Got Us Into the Middle East’

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September 25, 2023

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Media Matters’ Craig Harrington, commenting on Trump’s latest gaffe, observed: “In the past two weeks, Donald Trump has:

– Warned that Joe Biden might start ‘World War 2’
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Watch the video below or at this link.

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September 25, 2023

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The Fulton County Superior Court judge presiding over Georgia’s RICO, conspiracy, and election interference case against Donald Trump on Monday afternoon ordered the identities and images of all jurors and prospective jurors to remain secret, ordering they may only be referred to by a number.

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Judge McAfee also ordered no juror’s or prospective juror’s identity, “including names, addresses, telephone numbers, or identifying employment information” may be revealed.

MSNBC’s Katie Phang posted the order, and added: “Another important part of the Order: no responses from juror questionnaires or notes about jury selection shall be disclosed, unless permitted by the Court.”

Judge McAfee’s order comes after Donald Trump’s weekend of attacks on his former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley. Trump strongly suggested he should be executed for treason. Trump also strongly suggested he would target Comcast, NBC News, and MSNBC if he wins the 2024 presidential election.

Responding to the news, MSNBC’s Medhi Hasan observed, “We have just normalized the fact that the former president, and GOP presidential frontrunner, is basically a mob boss.”

 

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‘Isn’t Glock a Good Gun?’ Trump Asks Before Saying He Is Buying One – Campaign Forced to Deny He Did

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September 25, 2023

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During a photo shoot at a South Carolina gun shop, Donald Trump posed with and then said he wanted to buy a Glock, asking if it is “a good gun.”

Some say it might be illegal to sell a gun to anyone under criminal indictment, and if he took the gun with him that too might be illegal. It was not clear if, despite saying he would, he actually bought the firearm. The Trump campaign initially said he had, although later backtracked on its claim, and deleted the social media post saying he had.

In the photo op (video below,) Trump posed with several people, including the Republican Attorney General of South Carolina, Alan Wilson, who has held that elected position since 2011.

“Trump’s spokesman announced that Trump bought a Glock today in South Carolina. He even posted video,” wrote former Chicago Tribune editor Mark Jacob. “If Trump took the gun with him, that’s a federal crime since he’s under indictment. There’s also a law against selling a gun to someone under federal indictment like Trump.”

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Reuters’ crime and justice reporter Brad Heath posted the federal laws that might apply, as well as Trump’s campaign spokesperson’s clip of the ex-president’s remarks, and his spokesperson saying, “President Trump purchases a @GLOCKInc in South Carolina!”

CNN analyst Stephen Gutowski, who writes about gun policy, added, “It would be a crime for him to actually buy this gun because he’s under felony indictment. Did he actually go through with this purchase?”

“People under felony indictments can’t ‘receive’ new firearms. That also means you can’t buy them,” he also wrote.

MSNBC anchor and legal contributor Katie Phang wrote, “I don’t know if he actually bought the gun. At least it didn’t happen in this video. Also, the Attorney General of South Carolina is in this video. Is he watching Trump commit a crime?”

But some pointed to a federal judge in Texas’ ruling from last year. Reuters reported, a “federal law prohibiting people under felony indictment from buying firearms is unconstitutional.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

 

 

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