DALLAS — My Faith Votes is rallying Pennsylvania Christians to oppose a new guideline that seeks to redefine sex in the state. Proposed by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC)—which consists of nine unelected officials appointed by Gov. Tom Wolf—the guideline would update the state’s Human Relations Act to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression” in its interpretation of “sex discrimination.”

The guidance would expose private businesses, nonprofits, and churches to risk of expensive lawsuits if they refuse to hire or accommodate men and women by their gender choice, even if doing so goes against their moral principles or sincerely held religious beliefs.

“If approved, this new guidance would undermine the rights of private businesses, nonprofits, and religious institutions, effectively saying that their moral principles and deeply held beliefs come secondary to gender choice,” said Jason Yates, CEO of My Faith Votes. “As part of the mission of My Faith Votes to inspire American Christians to become engaged in civic affairs and elections, we are calling Pennsylvania Christians to oppose this proposed update to the Human Relations Act.”

“No private institution or citizen in America should be afraid of living according to his or her faith,” Yates added.

My Faith Votes is reaching out to concerned citizens in Pennsylvania to contact the PHRC and express their opposition to the proposed guidance. The PHRC is accepting public comments until Friday, May 26.

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My Faith Votes—whose founding honorary national chairman was Dr. Ben Carson—is a non-partisan movement focused on motivating Christians in America to participate in local and national elections and be active members of society. By partnering with local churches, pastors and national faith leaders, My Faith Votes mobilizes and resources Christians to lead the conversation on the place of faith in culture and politics. In the 2016 election, My Faith Votes was largely credited with activating a sizable percentage of the 25 million Evangelicals who were registered to vote in previous elections but had chosen not to, prompting a record turnout by Evangelicals.

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