HOUSTON (AP) — The dispute over Houston’s equal rights ordinance has extended to the pulpit.
Houston city attorneys recently subpoenaed sermons by several local pastors who oppose the measure and are tied to conservative Christian activists. The activists have sued Houston, claiming they had enough valid signatures to put a repeal referendum on the ballot. They say a city attorney wrongly determined they didn’t.
The Houston Chronicle reports that city attorneys subpoenaed all speeches, presentations or sermons related to the petition, Mayor Annise Parker, homosexuality or gender identity. The Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal organization, filed a motion on behalf of the pastors seeking to end the subpoenas, calling them a “witch hunt.”
City attorney David Feldman said the city doesn’t intend to back down. He said pastors made their sermons relevant to the case by using the pulpit to encourage church members to sign petitions and help gather signatures for the ordinance’s opponents.
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