Tag Archives: Dave Welch

Houston Extremist Pastors Find Fame, Cause Célèbre In Fight Against Equality

For most politically-engaged Houstonians, the first week of November was focused primarily on the big 2014 election held on Tuesday the 4th.  That is when we got to decide the future of the state by electing a Governor, Senator, Lieutenant Governor and legislature.  It was a pivotal day for state of Texas, including Houston.

However, few may guess the political importance that happened just days before that big election… events which started in the Bayou City, but could end up proving significant at the national level.  November 2nd, now known as I Stand Sunday, marks a very important turning point for the Houston Area Pastor Council. Houstonians probably know this group as those who stood in staunch opposition to the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, passed earlier this year.  The core of the group consisted of 5 area pastors, among them Dave Welch- Executive Director of the council, and Steve Riggle of Grace Community Church.  Both especially significant for their long-held opposition to the Parker administration and full-on assault of  the LGBT equality movement in any form. Thanks to creative use of media attention, it became national news when these same pastors received subpoenas for the political work being done within their churches, and from the pulpit. Although the city has long since withdrawn the actual requests to subpoena any sermons, the national outrage that it sparked was enough to turn these local pastors and their local grievances into a world-wide cause.

It was in Riggle’s sanctuary of Grace Community Church where the I Stand Sunday rally was held.  But this rally was far more than a gathering of a few in the house of worship.  With powerful co-sponsors like the Family Research Council and American Family Association, coverage of I Stand Sunday was viewed by an estimated 1 million people all across the country.  It has literally elevated the Houston Pastors and their cause to national prominence.  The full I Stand Sunday event can be viewed here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFIKrd4gVpA

So much so that the Houston Area Pastor Council has now branched out to become the U.S. Pastor Council… a national organization intent on defeating the equality agenda, and upholding their said religious beliefs.  Aided by the likes of Tony Perkins, Phil Robertson, Mike Huckabee and others, what was once little more than a dream by Welch and his close confidants has now become a reality.  In 2014, the organization has expanded to a membership of over 700 pastors across the nation, with ready access to the financial and voting power of their congregants.  Indeed, the U.S. Pastor Council is well on it’s way to becoming the nation’s most powerful hate group.  

Texas Leftist has not chosen to post things like the I Stand Sunday video for promotional purposes. However, it is critically important for those that support the equality movement in Houston and beyond to know what we are up against.  If the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance is forced to a ballot, the full weight of the U.S. Pastor Council, FRC and other anti-equality groups will turn their focus to the Bayou City at a level none of us could anticipate.  After I Stand Sunday, this is not the same fight that H.E.R.O. proponents faced back in May to get the law passed.

Houston Subpoenas Sermons From Anti-HERO Clergy

In more big news about the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, the city is taking an interesting new turn in its case.  Here’s more on the perplexing news from Katherine Driessen of the Houston Chronicle

Houston’s embattled equal rights ordinance took another legal turn this week when it surfaced that city attorneys, in an unusual step, subpoenaed sermons given by local pastors who oppose the law and are tied to the conservative Christian activists who have sued the city.

Opponents of the equal rights ordinance are hoping to force a repeal referendum when they get their day in court in January, claiming City Attorney David Feldman wrongly determined they had not gathered enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.

City attorneys issued subpoenas last month as part of the case’s discovery phase, seeking, among other communications, “all speeches, presentations, or sermons related to HERO, the Petition, Mayor Annise Parker, homosexuality, or gender identity prepared by, delivered by, revised by, or approved by you or in your possession.”

The subpoenas were issued to pastors and religious leaders who have been vocal in opposing the ordinance: Dave Welch, Hernan Castano, Magda Hermida, Khanh Huynh and Steve Riggle. The Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal organization known for its role in defending same-sex marriage bans, filed a motion Monday on behalf of the pastors seeking to quash the subpoenas, and in a press announcement called it a “witch hunt.”

The city’s lawyers will face a high bar for proving the information in the sermons is essential to their case, said Charles Rhodes, a South Texas College of Law professor. The pastors are not named parties in the suit, and the “Church Autonomy Doctrine” offers fairly broad protections for internal church deliberations, he said.

When asked about the decision to subpoena the sermons in her weekly press conference, Mayor Parker immediately distanced herself from the decision, saying she knew nothing about it…

One word in a very long legal document which I know nothing about and would never have read, and I’m villified coast to coast… it’s a normal day at the office for me.  But you’re going to have to ask the City Attorney that question.

[…]

There’s no question that the wording was overly broad… It should be clarified and will be clarified.  People are rightly concerned if a government entity tries to inhibit, in any way, religious speech.  That is not the intent.

Attorney Feldman later responded, and basically echoed the Mayor’s words.  Both chalk it up to a document that they never read before issue, trusting pro bono lawyers not employed by the city to construct the subpoena.

This is what the Mayor said on Wednesday morning. But it seems in direct contradiction to what the Mayor tweeted on Tuesday night, saying the sermons are “fair game” and giving further fuel to the media firestorm…

https://twitter.com/AnniseParker/status/522238662033956866

One needs only to look at the process by which the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance was passed to see that both sides were treated with fairness and respect, even when they didn’t always deserve it.  So many in the news media seem to be rushing to the defense of the Houston Area Pastor Council, but failing to mention all of the lies and deceitful practices that they have carried out.  Just because these pastors claim to be men and women of the cloth does not mean that they are always doing God’s work.  They are the ones spreading hate and division, and deserve to be appropriately scrutinized for their actions.

But appropriate scrutiny can be well exercised without having to subpoena sermons shared with their congregations, as Feldman already stated in the press conference.  Much of that information has already been compiled by those working to protect the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, and does not need to be extended to direct sacred practices.

Many of the people feigning complete and total outrage against the Mayor are the ones that have hated her since day one.  That’s not going to change anytime soon.  But what can change is that the city makes sure that in its effort to defend the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, they do not isolate the many religious groups within the law’s broad community of support.  The subpoena was cause for legitimate concern, and now that Parker and Feldman have promised to redact the wording to exclude sermons, leave the issue where it is, and make sure that they correct it.  Just like in May, it’s time to practice dignity and common sense on both sides.

Texpatriate and Off the Kuff have more.

 

(photo credit:  Houston Chronicle)

HERO Opponents File Suit Against City of Houston

Here’s the story from Mike Morris of the Houston Chronicle

Opponents of Houston’s new non-discrimination ordinance sued Mayor Annise Parker late Tuesday after city officials rejected a petition the group had submitted hoping to force a repeal referendum in November.

Plaintiff and conservative activist Jared Woodfill said his group is asking a state district judge to declare that City Secretary Anna Russell followed her legal duty and verified a sufficient number of signatures to force a referendum before City Attorney David Feldman illegally inserted himself into the process.

“If he felt there were underlying problems with the petition then he, like us, has the right to file a lawsuit if he doesn’t agree with what the city secretary did,” Woodfill said. “Going in before she’s ever made the decision and influencing her is inappropriate, it’s illegal and we believe the court will agree with us and that folks will have their voices heard in November on this issue.”

Feldman declined to comment until he had seen a copy of the lawsuit, but earlier Tuesday disputed the idea that his involvement crossed any ethical or legal lines.

“The fact is, that given my role as defined by law,  I’m supposed to give advice to city officials, whether they be elected, appointed or just employees,” he said. “That’s part of my role and the role of this department, so I don’t see anything out of the ordinary here in terms of our involvement.”

This move was to be expected, which is why Mayor Parker decided to delay the new ordinance while all of the legal battles are being worked out.  Plaintiffs listed on the lawsuit were Ex-Harris County Republican Party Chairman Jared Woodfill, almost convicted criminal Steven Hotze, Pastor F.N. Williams Sr. and Pastor Max Miller.  Noticeably absent from the plaintiff list was Pastor and Kendall Baker, whom has had his own trouble with the law. Rest assured, it ain’t no “family values” Brady Bunch.

UPDATE:  Be sure to visit Lone Star Q for an excellent post on the lawsuit as well.  Here is some critical information that they have published…

The lawsuit alleges that last Friday, City Secretary Anna Russell determined there were approximately 17,846 valid signatures on the petition, more than the 17,269 needed to qualify for the ballot. However, on Monday, Parker and City Attorney David Feldman held a press conference to announce that the petition contained only 15,249 valid signatures.

Given that there is a significant disagreement between the City Secretary’s numbers from Friday, and the announcement on Monday, this could certainly strengthen the plaintiff’s case in the lawsuit.  Kudos to Lone Star Q for publishing not only this information, but including both the lawsuit and City Secretary’s official memo, dated Friday August 1st.

(Steven Hotze.  photo credit:  Death and Taxes mag