NEWS STORY: Gospel duo, others urge opposition to proposed anti-discrimination law

c. 1998 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ A prominent gospel music duo and other Christians came to Capitol Hill on Thursday (April 2) to tell lawmakers how they are being harassed and discriminated against for taking public stands against homosexuality, while urging Congress to reject a proposed anti-discrimination bill that would protect the rights of […]

c. 1998 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ A prominent gospel music duo and other Christians came to Capitol Hill on Thursday (April 2) to tell lawmakers how they are being harassed and discriminated against for taking public stands against homosexuality, while urging Congress to reject a proposed anti-discrimination bill that would protect the rights of gays and lesbians in the workplace.

Angie and Debbie Winans, the youngest siblings of the Grammy-award winning gospel duo BeBe and CeCe Winans, said they have come under fire from gay rights groups and others since the release last September of their song”Not Natural,”which says homosexuality, pornography, murder and abortion are”not the way God planned.””We have received quite a few bashing, harassing letters”since the release of”Not Natural,”said Debbie Winans, adding that homosexual activists have petitioned radio stations and record stores to boycott their music.


In one of the song’s verses, the Winans recall the reaction over the now-famous episode of the ABC sitcom”Ellen”in which the title character announced she is gay. Ellen DeGeneres, the show’s star, had earlier made public that she is a lesbian.”There were people celebrating and congratulating

The new addition to the gay community.

I was vexed in my spirit

And I began to write this song.

It may be cold but let the truth be told

I’m here to let you know

It’s not natural

No that’s not the way it goes,”the lyrics say in part.

But”these are not our words,”Debbie Winans said in the song’s defense.”We have simply sung the words of God.””As Christians, we have a right as well as a responsibility to stand by our convictions and address the wrongs in our society,”added Angie Winans.”We have made a conscious decision to become active Christians.” The proposed bill that has caught the Winans’ attention and that of many conservative Christian advocacy groups is the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), legislation designed to prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. If passed, ENDA would create laws distinct from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which currently protects workers on the basis of race, national origin, color, sex, religion, age and disability.”ENDA is by far the broadest discrimination statue ever proposed. … It would protect (gays) to a broader degree than any other class,”said Dudley C. Rochelle, an attorney who has analyzed the bill on behalf of the Traditional Values Coalition, the Washington-based conservative group hosting the news conference.

The bill defines sexual orientation as”heterosexual, homosexual and bisexual … whether … real or perceived.”Such a vague definition, Rochelle said,”will protect every person in the workplace. … There are no exceptions for deviant behavior.” If enacted, ENDA could protect”transvestism, transsexualism, pedophilia, exhibitionism, voyeurism, gender identity disorders, and sexual behavior disorders,”according to Rochelle’s analysis.

Ronnie B. Greer, a veteran firefighter and pastor of Trinity Evangelical Fellowship in Madison, Wis., told the news conference he was suspended from his job and is awaiting permanent termination because he opposed the hiring of a lesbian fire chief by passing out Christian literature denouncing homosexuality and talking openly with the press about his views.”In the end, the root cause of my suspension and dismissal from the fire service was based not upon any failure of performance, but simply upon my religious convictions about homosexuality,”said Greer.”The First Amendment no longer applies in Madison.” Heather Trelow, a Christian public school student from Alameda, Calif., said she was humiliated in front of her entire fifth-grade class after her teacher asked why she did not agree with her that Ellen was”brave”for coming out of the closet. Before entering the school, Trelow’s parents had signed an”opt-out”form excusing her from material and discussions the parents found objectionable, including homosexuality.”She should not be a teacher because she wanted me to obey her in thinking that being gay was OK,”Trelow said trembling and unable to hold back tears.”I am angry that she is still a teacher and might do this again to the kids in her class.” The Rev. Louis P. Sheldon, chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition, said ENDA would give homosexuals a”preferred status”allowing them to voice their personal views in the workplace while Christians are forced to keep their views to themselves.”People of religious faith are being told they have to sit at the back of the bus,”he said.

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