SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Rev. Dr. Samuel Rodriguez, President of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, issues the following statement:
“California’s AB-2943 is the most egregious, tone-def, and discriminatory example of anti-religious legislation that I have witnessed in all my years of ministry. First, I am deeply troubled this profoundly flawed bill has already passed the California Assembly and now sits with the Senate. It is not overstating the matter when to say this bill will have a destructive effect on churches and ministries far beyond its stated purpose of prohibiting sexual orientation change efforts – which in itself represents a wrong-headed abuse of power and an assault on individual freedom.
“AB-2943 gives the state terrifying power to target and punish all those who hold a traditional, biblical view of marriage and sexuality. It is certainly anti-Bible and anti-Christian, but it’s also incompatible with the other major religions including Judaism and Islam. We repudiate all vestiges of discrimination and bigotry against any of God’s children, without exception. We must not allow AB-2943 to progress any further legislatively. I urge all those who count as sacred our right to freedom of religion, to stand against this terrible bill. May we also pray for California’s politicians that wisdom, sanity, and respect for people of faith would prevail in Sacramento.”
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Rev. Samuel Rodriguez is president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, executive producer of The Impossible with 20th Century Fox, and bestselling author of “Be Light.” He has been named by CNN and Fox News as “the leader of the Hispanic Evangelical movement” and TIME Magazine nominated him among the 100 most influential leaders in America.
The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference is identified by Time Magazine, New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Christianity Today, Charisma Magazine, NBC, Telemundo, Univision, Fox News, CNN, and a number of additional media outlets, publications, and periodicals as America’s largest and most influential Hispanic/Latino Christian organization with 40,118 certified member churches in the United States and chapters in Latin America.
Website | www.nhclc.org
