New York City Council Attacks Religious Liberties of Faith Based Groups

In a stunning disregard for the First Amendment religious rights of faith-based groups and private employers who reach out to needy New Yorkers, the City Council voted on June 28th to override Mayor Bloomberg’s veto of a bill that forces city contractors to offer the same benefits to the partners of employees in same-sex relationships as they do to married employees. The law is expected to take effect on or about October 26th.

Charitable organizations such as the Salvation Army and Catholic Charities -- who hold multimillion-dollar contracts from the City to provide compassionate and effective care to New York’s needy families, children and AIDS patients -- now face the dilemma of violating their firmly held religious beliefs about the objective sinfulness of homosexual relationships or canceling their contracts with the city and abandoning the needy that their religion also tells them to care for.

Project Reach sees the bill as a direct assault on religious liberty and an attempt by the City Council to advance a radical secular agenda that pushes to the margins of public life any semblance of religious faith or motivation. New Yorkers of all faiths are attacked by this bill, and the City itself is impoverished by this brazen attempt to sabotage the long-standing partnerships between city government and faith-based groups who provide compassionate care to New Yorkers who are most in need.
 

-- Promoting the Culture of Life in New York 3250 Westchester Avenue, Suite 210, Bronx, NY 10461 Phone: 718-409-0900 | Fax: 718-409-9259 | info@projectreach.org Program REACH, Inc., aka Project REACH is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Contributions are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. All website content © Program REACH, Inc. 2004