Christian News Network — The governor of Texas has signed into law a bill that prevents the government from subpoenaing copies of sermons or questioning pastors about the content of their messages.
“Texas law now will be your strength and your sword and your shield,” Gov. Greg Abbott declared during a ceremony at Grace Church of the Woodlands. “You will be shielded by any effort by any other government official in any other part of the state of Texas from having subpoenas to try to pry into what you’re doing here in your churches.”
Senate Bill 24 was birthed following the 2014 controversy surrounding Houston Mayor Annise Parker, who had requested copies of sermons and other material from several area pastors as part of the discovery phase of a lawsuit over a petition seeking to repeal the city’s “bathroom bill.”
As previously reported, attorneys for Parker, an open lesbian, asked for “all speeches, presentations, or sermons related to [the bathroom bill], the petition, Mayor Annise Parker, homosexuality, or gender identity…”
A motion was soon filed in turn to stop the city from scrutinizing the speech of area pastors, which caused Parker’s attorneys to alter their demands.
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