In a June interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Tim Gill (a liberal
mega-donor and activist), expressed a desire to “punish the wicked” in
reference to those who oppose the radical LGBT political agenda. Conservatives and people of faith need only
look at the last few years to see the kind of threats. [I’ve written many, many past blogs urging
folks to take these threats seriously, i.e., cake-bakers and florists
persecuted for declining to participate in same-sex weddings.]
We’ve also seen big business organized
to fight against protections for people of faith that stand against the left’s
efforts to redefine marriage and gender. Conservatives need to understand how Tim Gill
and the Gill Foundation are at the center of the corporate involvement in these
cultural debates.
Last year, as the Georgia legislature
was working to enact legislation to protect religious liberty, the Gill
Foundation established a business coalition called Georgia Prospers. Over 400-businesses … including Coca-Cola,
SunTrust, Delta Airlines, and more … joined this “front group” in an ultimately
successful effort to pressure Governor Nathan Deal to veto the bill.
At the same time, the Gill Foundation
was financially supporting Equality North Carolina’s fight against HB-2 – a common-sense
measure to protect individuals and business owners in response to the
Charlotte’s controversial sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI)
accommodation law that allowed men into women’s bathrooms and locker rooms. Companies like Bank of America, Facebook, and
Wells Fargo … who had also joined Georgia Prospers … were part of Equality
North Carolina’s coalition as well.
In truth, opposing Religious Freedom
Restoration Acts (RFRAs) and enacting SOGI accommodation laws, or so-called
“bathroom bills,” are the focus point of the LGBT left’s agenda. Given Gill’s involvement in Georgia and North
Carolina, it seems that he and the Gill Foundation will continue to take an
active role in supporting this agenda.
A look at the Gill Foundation’s annual
reports reveals a key strategy: recruiting businesses to help advance Gill’s
political goals. Groups like Equality
Texas, Equality Florida, Equality Virginia, One Colorado, and many more have
all received grants from the Gill Foundation. Many of these operate under the umbrella of
the Equality Foundation – an organization established by the Gill Foundation.
These Gill-sponsored activist
organizations at the state level are where businesses are aligning with and
supporting the LGBT left’s policy agenda. For example,
Equality California, a member of the Equality Foundation’s network, is
sponsoring legislation (SB 219) that, according
to CBN News, would criminalize the
incorrect use of transgender pronouns. This
is the same organization that sponsored a 2016 bill that aimed to prevent
faith-based schools from establishing standards in accordance with their
beliefs like having a system of single-sex dormitories. Equality California’s lobbying work for this type
of legislation is sponsored by some well-known companies such as AT&T,
Coca-Cola, and Southwest Airlines.
This is the context where Gill’s use
of the word “punish” is especially concerning. Our neighbors to the North enacted a law last
month that makes referring to a transgender person in Canada by the incorrect
pronoun a “hate crime” and California’s SB 219 bears marked similarities. It stands to reason that this is exactly how
Gill intends to “punish” those who he considers “wicked.” Or, perhaps it’s more about punishing those
who don’t share Gill’s worldview.
Can it be any clearer that the liberal
agenda not only stands in sharp contrast to the Bible, but seeks to muffle the
moral absolutes of Holy Scripture and those who would boldly proclaim it as
Truth.!?
Rev.
Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain
(Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor,
Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel
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