COLUMN: It's still discrimination

Discrimination in housing and employment is either right or wrong. It can’t be right for one group of citizens and wrong for another. Protections should be afforded to none or to all. You don’t get to pick and choose, Mr. Van Noy. Christians shouldn’t be discriminated against in these essential areas of life, but homosexuals should? Your position is clear that you are OK with that. And what about those convicted of sex offenses? If we had proposed an ordinance protecting us from such discrimination, would you oppose that also? Of course you would.

Like the vast majority of professing Christians, you don’t really care about justice for all — you care about “just-us.” Did you know that the Fed. Gov. has forcibly removed all registrants from low-income Section 8 housing? If they lived there with family members they were told they could either kick the registrant out on the street, or the whole family would be removed. Devastating for upwards of a million people who have zero protections against any kind of discrimination. Do the good Christians of America care at all about that, Mr. Van Noy? Not even enough to inform themselves of it.

While proponents of the registry scramble to document even one case where a single child has been protected by the registry, the children of registrants suffer daily. 47 percent have been harassed by others, 59 percent were ridiculed by others, 52 percent suffered teasing by others, 22 percent were physically attacked, 65 percent feel left out by other children, 77 percent suffer depression, 73 percent feel anxiety, 63 percent suffer from fear, 13 percent have suicidal tendencies, 80 percent have anger issues. The entire study can be accessed at: www.opd.ohio.gov/AWA_information/AW_levensonfamily_impact_study.pdf.

And the visible church is OK with that, right? Where is our DUE PROCESS, Mr. Van Noy? Maybe when you (the churches you speak for) start caring about the injustice done to others, I will start taking the threat of injustice to you more seriously.

BILL JOHNSON

Rathdrum