The FAMiLY LEADER’s Bob Vander Plaats, Chuck Hurley, and Danny Carroll sat down to discuss the second week of the 2018 Iowa legislative session:
The trio opened with a discussion of two proclamations issues by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds this week: one echoing President Trump’s proclamation on Religious Freedom Day, and a second on human trafficking.
The religious freedom proclamations led Bob to quip, “I guess prayer doesn’t only move mountains, but it produces proclamations!”
Human trafficking: Chuck called the day Reynolds signed the human trafficking proclamation “the best human trafficking moment at the State Capitol that I’ve ever seen,” as the day also included awards given “for real change, for lives saved” and news that over 70 hotels in Iowa have been trained and are already identifying evidence of human trafficking.
Yet Chuck also warned, “There’s a hitch in that getalong,” as Gov. Reynolds’ budget did not match the rhetoric, actually decreasing the funds for human trafficking prevention.
Religious liberty: Danny gave an update on the case of Business Leaders in Christ, or BLinC, a student group that was kicked off the University of Iowa campus for its religious beliefs. Legislators this week heard testimony of how the group’s student leader has since been targeted “maliciously and viciously” and the “unseen toll” it has taken on this young man. The testimony, Danny said, has “incensed” Iowa legislators, and there are efforts both in the courts and Legislature to protect religious liberty rights on campus.
Bibles in school: About a dozen House Republicans are working to give school boards permission to use an elective course on the Bible. In this discussion, Danny says, “They’re serious about bringing the Word of God into students’ education.”
Chuck added that the course the legislators are advocating has already passed in Kentucky and been approved by the courts, as it clearly passes First Amendment muster. He also pointed out the need: Even secular university professors are admitting the Bible is so central to Western Civilization that students “are not equipped for college” without a working knowledge of the Bible and its influence on art, law, literature, and more.
Life: Finally, Chuck said, the battle for life at the Legislature has great momentum, but, “It’s a spiritual struggle; it’s a legislative struggle; it’s a legal struggle.” Your prayers are earnestly, desperately needed if meaningful pro-life legislation is going to clear the hurdles and be passed this year.
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