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

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

 

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.