Pastors speak up on citys decision to drop subpoenas By Katherine Driessen, Mike Morris | October 29, 2014 | Updated: October 29, 2014 1:21pm The city of Houston will withdraw its controversial subpoenas of five pastors tied to a lawsuit over the citys equal rights ordinance, Mayor Annise Parker announced at a news conference Wednesday. The decision comes amid a national firestorm over the subpoenas, which have prompted outrage among Christian conservatives. Parker last week had left the subpoenas in place with narrower wording, removing any mention of sermons. However, Parker said two Tuesday meetings, one with local pastors and another with national clergy, persuaded her to pull the subpoenas altogether. The move is in the best interest of Houston, she said, and is not an admission that the requests were in any way illegal or intended to intrude on religious liberties. The subpoenas were part of a discovery phase in a suit filed by opponents of the equal rights ordinance, who largely take issue with the rights the law extends to gay and transgender residents. I didnt do this to satisfy them, Parker said of critics. I did it because it was not serving Houston. Regardless, the mayors critics were not quieted. Grace Community Church pastor Steve Riggle, who was among the subpoenaed pastors, said, If the mayor thought the subpoenas were wrong she would have pulled them immediately, not waited until she was forced to by national outrage. Parker said she was persuaded in part by the demeanor of the clergymen she met with Tuesday, saying they were concerned not about the ordinance or politics but about the subpoenas impact on the ongoing national discussion of religious freedoms. That was the most persuasive argument, because to me it was, What is the goal of the subpoenas? The goal of the subpoenas is to defend against a lawsuit, and not to provoke a public debate, Parker said. I dont want to have a national debate about freedom of religion when my whole purpose is to defend a strong and wonderful and appropriate city ordinance against local attack, and by taking this step today we remove that discussion about freedom of religion. When news of the subpoenas first surfaced, Parker and City Attorney David Feldman said they did not know about the request for sermons and said the wording of the documents was overly broad. That led to Fridays announcement that the wording had been narrowed, which did little to dampen the outcry. Among the seven pastors who flew to Houston to meet with Parker on Tuesday was the Rev. Myke Crowder, of Christian Life Church in Layton, Utah. He described the meeting as honest, respectful and serious, and said it focused not on politics but on the theological implication of the subpoenas. While the group left the meeting unsure about whether Parker would pull the subpoenas, Crowder said they were confident that she was taking it under serious consideration. What we did was to simply respectfully articulate our concerns, Crowder said. And I believe what we did was help her to understand a broader picture than what she might have seen before. She honestly listened, she asked hard questions, fair questions, and we gave her fair and honest answers. Parker admitted she is concerned dropping the subpoenas may impede the citys legal defense, but said the city would pursue an aggressive defense. The plaintiffs attorney in the lawsuit, Andy Taylor, called Parkers announcement a head fake, and challenged her not only to pull down the subpoenas but to drop the citys defense of the lawsuit and put the ordinance to a vote. The city last summer ruled opponents petition to submit the equal rights ordinance to a repeal referendum fell short of the legal requirements spelled out in the city charter, prompting the lawsuit. The truth is shes using this litigation to try to squelch the voting rights of over a million well-intentioned voters here in the city of Houston, Taylor said. Its very simple why we filed a lawsuit: Because they wont do what the city constitutional charter requires them to do. Plaintiff and conservative activist Jared Woodfill said he was glad the mayor had finally seen the light on subpoenas, but he and other opponents said a Sunday rally at Riggles church protesting the subpoenas - and urging an immediate City Council vote to place the item before voters - will still go forward. chron/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Mayor-set-to-make-announcement-on-sermon-subpoenas-5855458.php?cmpid=bna
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 18:41:04 +0000
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