Pastor jailed for protesting pedophiles in library 

A pastor went to a library to protest a “Reading with Royalty” drag queen story hour, believing it was wrong to expose children to this perverted exploitation.

Pastor Derek Reimer was assaulted and shoved to the floor, yet he was the one dragged into court and put on house arrest for a year. When he refused to write court-ordered language apologizing, the pastor was forcibly arrested.

In a chilling video, his toddler cries in the background as four police officers handcuff Derek in front of his child — even though he was not resisting arrest.

Just like that, freedom of speech was silenced. Calgary passed a law similar to the proposed “Equality Act” now pending in the U.S. Congress.

What is unfolding in Canada will happen here if the Equality Act passes. We cannot allow this to happen in America. Tell Congress to block HR 15, the so-called “Equality Act.”

Derek’s situation exposes that once these LGBTQ laws take root, they quickly become weapons to punish conscience, silence beliefs, and crush dissent. Here in America, the “Equality Act” bill seeks to erase religious freedom as a defense by expressly stating that the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) cannot be used as a defense.

For Derek, it gets even worse. The judge in his case ordered him stay more than 300 feet away from any LGBTQ event and to apologize for his beliefs. In his statement to the court, he stood firm and said he could not apologize. “I cannot lie and say I was wrong for speaking what is right.”

His refusal to apologize infuriated the judge.

This pastor was sentenced to a year of house arrest. The assigned court officer readily admitted his goal was to “break down" Derek’s beliefs and supplant them with the government’s preferred ideology.

What has happened in Canada is exactly what LGBTQ activists want to accomplish here in America. The Equality Act will do all that and more. It would force teachers, pastors, parents, students, and employers to either bow to the new state-enforced ideology or face government punishment. If the Equality Act passes, your right to speak the truth will be in immediate danger.

This is why Congress must stop HR 15.

What Derek is facing is the modern equivalent of when King Nebuchadnezzar commanded every person in Babylon to bow to his golden idol — or be hurled alive into the fiery furnace.

Today, our American culture is building its own glittering idol in the LGBTQ+ image, and the Equality Act would be the ultimate weapon. Don’t take freedom for granted. We must fight to remain free.

Liberty Counsel Action is one of the few organizations on Capitol Hill fighting this battle every day. Our team is meeting with members of Congress, briefing staff, and ensuring the Equality Act does not slip into the budget through procedural tricks or backroom maneuvers. Activists are trying to force this bill through any door left unlocked. We are standing in the gap — but we cannot hold the line without you.

Your support directly equips our team to fight the legislative fires before they burn into law. Please give generously today.

Mat Staver, Chairman
John Stemberger, President
Liberty Counsel Action