The Rutherford Institute is challenging a five-year restraining order issued against a street preacher who has been threatened with jail if he offends someone by citing Bible verses that oppose the ideology of same-sex marriage. The Rutherford Institute has reported that this action is an attempt by the courts to silence individuals whose religious views may be perceived as intolerant or hateful.
The street preacher, Rich Penkoski, was threatened with arrest after citing Bible verses on social media to express his moral concerns about a church that endorses same-sex marriage and raising awareness about a public drag queen performance that occurred in front of children. According to Rutherford’s report, Penkoski shared the church’s public photo of a same-sex wedding involving leaders of an LGBTQ organization and quoted Bible verses describing God’s judgment of sin.
In a second post, Penkoski criticized the church’s publicly shared photos of children celebrating Pride Month. In a third post, Penkoski weighed in on a regional effort to ban adult-oriented entertainment in public spaces. He also posted evidence of what LGBTQ leaders claimed to the city council, as well as photos “of a drag queen behaving in a sexually suggestive manner near children at the Pride event.”
The court imposed the protective order without any evidence except for LGBTQ claims that they felt “terrorized” by the information online. The Rutherford Institute argues that the five-year restraining order is “excessive and a clear violation of the pastor’s First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and the free exercise of religion.” According to the institute’s lawyers, the court’s rationale appears to be based solely on claims that “LGBTQ leaders felt terrorized, harassed, and fearful about how others might react to the Bible verses cited in the street preacher’s social media posts.”
The Rutherford Institute is now asking the Oklahoma Supreme Court to overturn the five-year restraining order against Penkoski. The group warns that this case is a foreshadowing of the government’s efforts to insulate the populace from all things that might cause offense by criminalizing nonviolent First Amendment activities (speech, thought, and actions) perceived as politically incorrect.
RELATED ARTICLES
- Gab implements subscription plans to Help stop Malicious Spam Bots
- Canada Borderline Bans Christianity, Outlaws Reading Aloud From Bible in Public
- Ghana Bans all LGBTQ activities in the country
- Pet abandonment cases soar all over the world due to inflation, rising cost of living
- Facebook Blocks All News, Government And Health Updates In Australia: 'An Assault On A Sovereign Nation'
Loading ...
