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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Inside the movement to make Idaho a ‘Christian State' — and how that affects Latter-day Saints
One of the most influential conservative policy groups at the Idaho Capitol wants to make the state explicitly Christian. But their definition excludes a quarter of the population who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, not to mention those in the state who belong to other religions or no religion at all. Over the past five years, the Idaho Family Policy Center has become a legislative powerhouse, drafting, sponsoring and training lawmakers to debate a host of bills promoting Christian values in public spaces. This year the organization pushed to mandate daily Bible reading in public schools. Though the policy never received a floor vote, the organization has vowed to bring it back next year, with the proposal representing just the beginning of what the group envisions for the state. Religious litmus tests in Idaho? Idaho Family Policy Center president Blaine Conzatti told the Deseret News he would not oppose declaring Idaho a 'Christian state' and implementing religious tests for public office, although he clarified these are not his short-term goals. While the Supreme Court struck them down in 1961, provisions to prevent non-Christians from office are not new or radical, according to Conzatti. Many early American states incorporated religious tests requiring a belief in the Christian God, or a specific affiliation to Protestant sects. Conzatti does not advocate for states to put their stamp of approval on one specific denomination but he does draw a line between 'historic Christianity,' based on the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds, and the faith of Latter-day Saints. While they share many beliefs in common with Conzatti, some of the roughly one-third of Idaho lawmakers who belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints say this approach could alienate the state's nearly half million members, and threatens religious pluralism. 'Mr. Conzatti, unfortunately, would not consider the majority faith in my legislative district to be Christian,' said Rep. Josh Wheeler, a Republican who represents the southeast corner of Idaho. 'That right there shows you the danger of becoming too narrow in what you require in policy that brings faith into the public square.' Since Wheeler entered the statehouse in 2023, legislators have introduced a record number of bills, with 'a large majority' of those originating from groups like the Idaho Family Policy Center, Wheeler said. The organization has had some major victories like the 2023 passage of bills letting parents sue libraries that carry sexually offensive books and letting students sue for encountering members of the opposite sex in public bathrooms. The Idaho Family Policy Center is characterized by its relentless approach, providing lawmakers with several versions of a bill to introduce each session to make it more likely that efforts like daily Bible reading will eventually pass, according to Wheeler. 'What I was surprised by is the way that this influence kind of shapes the whole legislative process in Idaho,' Wheeler said. But these legislative wins may ultimately come at the expense of broader goals to spread Christian values across society, Wheeler said, because they don't take into account the needs of all state residents. What the founders intended? In a series of email responses, Conzatti said that his political mission rests on the belief that the Founding Fathers crafted constitutions with the assumption that governments would actively promote what Conzatti calls 'biblical Christianity.' 'We are a Christian nation, as our founders at both the federal and state level affirmed,' Conzatti told the Deseret News. 'Put simply, we want our public schools and local governments to acknowledge God, in ways consistent with the history and tradition of our state and nation.' To support his conclusion, Conzatti, who studied government and law at Liberty University, cites numerous sources from the American Revolution and late 19th century where founders and Supreme Court justices affirmed the nation's Christian foundations. Drawing on Federalist leader Fisher Ames, Commentaries on the Constitution (1833) by Justice Joseph Story and Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States (1892), Conzatti argues that the First Amendment was never meant to put a wall between traditional Christianity and policymaking. His view is the opposite, that the maintenance of constitutional governance depends on the 'governmental promotion of biblical Christianity,' and that forgetting this has threatened American liberty, led to increased crime and weakened the family. 'Both policymakers and voters alike should take this opportunity to return to those biblical principles that made America a great place to work, worship, and raise families,' Conzatti said. Conzatti said he does not believe state-endorsed Christianity needs to come at the expense of religious liberty. The founding fathers, Conzatti said, were also firm believers in the natural right to freedom of conscience. While Conzatti is consistent in stating that voters of every state should have the power to choose what 'religious values and system of morality their state government will reflect,' he said 'biblical Christianity' is the only worldview that can sustain the country. 'We can — and we should — openly promote biblical Christian values and acknowledge God in our governmental affairs," Conzatti said. 'Idaho Family Policy Center affirms the freedom of all religious minorities to live out their faith, and we advocate for the religious freedom of everyone, Christian and non-Christian alike.' Idaho's history of religious discrimination Republican Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen, who represents the area west of Idaho Falls, said proposals for the state to come out in transparent support of a certain interpretation of Christianity have 'been on turbocharge over the last few years.' Groups like Idaho Family Policy Center have an 'outsized influence' in Idaho politics because of the partnerships they have developed with many sitting lawmakers and prospective primary challengers, Mickelsen said. While some of their initiatives align with conservative small government principles, like allowing tax dollars to follow students outside of public school, others would expand government through increased litigation, spending and regulations, according to Mickelsen. An approach to social issues that takes control away from local governments is not just heavy-handed, it could create a precedent that infringes on the kind of pluralism that protects religious diversity, Mickelsen said. 'I think that we're getting back to a very slippery slope of being like the Church of England, or the Roman Catholic influence in Italy,' Mickelsen said. 'When's this going to stop? What's good enough for them?' Even though the 14th Amendment extended the Constitution's prohibition on religious tests to the states in 1868, just after Idaho became a territory, in the state's early history there was an effort to exclude Latter-day Saints from political life. Despite Latter-day Saint missionaries being among the first Europeans to settle in Idaho, the territory's laws in the 1880s, and its first state constitution, required an 'Idaho Test Oath' that banned supporters of groups that practiced polygamy from voting, serving on juries or holding office. The Supreme Court upheld the law in an unanimous ruling in 1890 — the same year the church ended the practice of plural marriage. And while enforcement ended later in the 1890s, the language that had earlier disenfranchised Latter-day Saint voters was not removed from the Idaho State Constitution until 1982. Personal faith in the public sphere Like Wheeler, Mickelsen, who is also a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, pointed to the church's seminary program as an example of how to bring religion into the public square without imposing on others. In southeast Idaho, as in Utah, high school students are given release time to leave campus for one period to attend church seminary buildings that are often built next door to the school. Former Republican Rep. Chenele Dixon, who was defeated in a primary in 2024 after opposing an Idaho Family Policy Center proposal, said she shared Wheeler and Mickelsen's view that an individual's faith should influence their policy decisions, and that this is healthy for society. During her single term in office, Dixon supported some bills written by the Idaho Family Policy Center that overlapped with her conservative views as a lifelong Republican, she said. But she said she thought other bills seemed like solutions in search of problems that the Idaho Family Policy Center had stirred up in an effort to box out views, or religions, they did not agree with. 'I do have a concern when we say that we need to be a Christian state, because there is always, I have found, a litmus test for Christianity with people that say that,' Dixon said. 'And actually, the folks who are saying that, don't have room for LDS people either, and I think a lot of LDS people don't understand that.' Correction: The Idaho Family Policy Center was not directly involved in lobbying for bills to require the display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms and to allow chaplains to serve as school counselors. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Idaho ‘indecent sexual exhibition bill' moves to House floor after committee hearing
A parade and marching band walk across City Park in downtown Coeur d' Alene during the 2023 Pride in the Park event organized by the North Idaho Pride Alliance. (Mia Maldonado / Idaho Capital Sun) A bill to limit youth access to public performances considered 'indecent sexual exhibitions,' such as drag shows, is headed to the Idaho House floor after passing a committee hearing on Wednesday. House Bill 230, sponsored by Rep. Ted Hill, R-Eagle, would require event hosts and organizers to verify people's age to attend public performances that are considered 'indecent sexual exhibitions,' using the same indecency standard used by the Federal Communications Commission to determine whether content is appropriate for daytime television. Minors who are exposed to 'sexual conduct' would have a right to sue event organizers for $5,000 in statutory damages as well as monetary damages for 'psychological, emotional, economic and physical harm suffered,' according to the bill. The bill also includes an emergency clause, meaning the bill would go into effect 30 days after the governor's signature. Hill said the legislation aims to address 'negative secondary effects on society of exposing children to indecent sexual conduct,' and it would protect children like his own. The Idaho Family Policy Center drafted the bill, an organization that pushes for conservative Christian policies. It previously tried to ban drag performances in public spaces in 2023, and this year drafted legislation to require Bibles be taught in schools. 'In our society, the innocence of youth is constantly under attack — and children are sexualized on every front. In the state of Idaho, these attacks have taken the form of live performances – like drag shows and pole dancing – that expose children to explicit sexual conduct,' Idaho Family Policy Center policy assistant Edward Clark said. Clark told the committee the organization consulted with stakeholders such as Boise State University and performing arts groups. The Boise Pride Festival, an official nonprofit, was not consulted about the legislation, executive director Donald Williamson told the Sun. The House State Affairs Committee voted to move the bill forward along party lines, with both Democrats opposing the move. While the bill does not explicitly say the words 'drag shows,' the policy center said the legislation was inspired by drag shows held in public parks in Coeur d'Alene and Boise, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported. Five people testified against the bill, including Jessica Strebe, a drag king performer and a mother. 'I've performed in multiple all ages drag events in multiple states. I wear pretty much what I am wearing right now,' Strebe said, who wore black slacks, a button-up long-sleeve shirt and a black vest. 'Is it offensive to you for a woman to wear pants?' Sarah Lynch, a Kootenai County resident, also testified against the bill. Lynch served as a safety liaison in Coeur d'Alene during 2022 Pride in the Park event when 31 members of a white nationalist organization known as the Patriot Front were arrested under conspiracy to riot charges while gathering inside of a U-Haul truck near the event. In addition to the white nationalist arrests, the 2022 North Idaho pride event received attention after Summer Bushnell, a blogger, defamed and falsely accused a drag performer of indecent exposure. 'The Kootenai County resident who spread the altered video spurred the domino effect straight down to the Idaho Legislature nearly three years later, and despite the unanimous ($1.1) million verdict of an Idaho jury finding that perpetrator liable for defamation, a photo from that same doctored video is still up on the Idaho Family Policy Center's website,' Lynch said. Lynch said House Bill 230's language is subjective, and aimed to censor LGBTQ+ individuals. '(House Bill 230) only serves to embolden dangerous groups to make peaceful events like Pride celebrations unsafe,' Lynch said. Three people testified in support of the bill, including Paul Lewer, a Boise pastor. 'I'm here today to encourage you to protect the innocence of Idaho children who are powerless to protect or advocate for themselves,' Lewer said. This bill, like others this legislative session, was drafted in response to pride events in Idaho. Another bill introduced by the committee Tuesday aims to amend Idaho's indecent exposure law in response to a Canyon County Pride event that took place in June. The House may vote on it in the coming days or weeks of the legislative session. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Christian group that wants Bible read in schools introduces ‘indecent' exhibitions bill
An influential Christian lobbying group in Idaho wants to restrict 'indecent sexual exhibitions,' including drag performances, in public spaces or areas where children might be present. The Idaho Family Policy Center has helped draft a number of controversial pieces of legislation, including a bill last week that would require verses of the Bible be read daily in all Idaho public schools, as well as laws limiting abortion and transgender rights, the Idaho Statesman previously reported. Blaine Conzatti, the group's president, presented its newest bill to the House State Affairs committee on Thursday morning. It would require hosts and organizers of public performances considered indecent to take 'reasonable steps' to safeguard their events from access by minors, Conzatti said. 'We don't let children patronize strip clubs, and we don't allow them to hang around adult movie stores,' a statement from Conzatti said. 'So why do we allow sexualized drag exhibitions in places like public parks and community libraries?' Under the proposed legislation, minors who access such performances and are exposed to 'sexual conduct' could sue hosts and organizers for damages. Conzatti told the committee that the bill was not intended to ban drag performances from public spaces outright, and that adults could still choose to attend such 'sexual exhibitions.' He also emphasized that the proposed legislation would hold up in court as a 'time, place, and manner' restriction — a type of regulation that can put limits on free speech and expression, as long as these guardrails are content-neutral and narrowly focused. Three of the five pages of the draft legislation provide legal background, one committee member noted during the Thursday morning meeting. Conzatti said the bill uses Federal Communications Commission standards to determine whether content is considered indecent. He told the committee the bill would not apply to 'gender-bending performances in Shakespeare,' for example. 'If it's appropriate for daytime television broadcasts, then it's appropriate for a live performance in public where children might be present,' he said. A media release from the Idaho Family Policy Center notes that the bill was 'prompted by drag shows held last year in public parks in both Coeur d'Alene and Boise.' The group is being sued by a North Idaho drag performer for defamation related to a 2022 dance performance in Coeur d'Alene, the Statesman previously reported. The lawsuit, filed in October, alleges that the group spread false and damaging statements about the performer. In an email to the Statesman in October, a spokesperson for the Idaho Family Policy Center denied making false statements and called the suit 'leftist bullying tactics.' The spokesperson did not respond to an email from the Statesman about the new indecency bill. The Statesman also reached out to Boise Pride via email and did not receive an immediate response. The House committee unanimously voted to introduce the bill, which is sponsored by Sen. Ben Toews, R-Coeur d'Alene, and Rep. Ted Hill, R-Eagle. It will next go to a public hearing.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
New Idaho bill aims to prevent minors from attending public ‘indecent sexual exhibitions'
Hundreds of members of Idaho's LGBTQ+ community commemorate the 10th anniversary of Idaho's first and only public hearing on an 'Add the Words' bill at a gathering at the Idaho State Capitol on Jan. 28, 2025. "Add the Words" encourages the addition of the words "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to Idaho's Human Rights Act. (Mia Maldonado/Idaho Capital Sun) A new bill introduced in the Idaho Legislature on Thursday aims to limit minors' access to public performances considered 'indecent sexual exhibitions,' such as drag shows. House Bill 230 — sponsored by Rep. Ted Hill, R-Eagle, and Sen. Ben Toews, R-Coeur d'Alene, — does not outright ban 'sexual exhibitions' in public. It would require event hosts, organizers and performers to verify people's age to attend public performances that are considered 'indecent sexual exhibitions.' 'The indecency standard that we're using here mirrors the same standard the (Federal Communications Commission) has used for decades now to regulate daytime television broadcasts,' Idaho Family Policy Center President Blaine Conzatti told the House State Affairs Committee. 'So if it's appropriate for daytime television broadcasts, then it's appropriate for a live performance in public where children might be present.' The bill was drafted by the Idaho Family Policy Center, an organization that pushes for conservative Christian policies. In 2023, the group unsuccessfully spearheaded a bill to ban drag shows in public spaces, and this year it created legislation to require Bibles be taught in schools. The bill does not explicitly say the words 'drag shows.' However, in a press release, the policy center said the legislation was inspired by drag shows held in public parks in Coeur d'Alene and Boise. Minors who are exposed to 'sexual conduct' would have a right to sue event organizers for $5,000 in statutory damages as well as monetary damages for 'psychological, emotional, economic and physical harm suffered,' according to the bill. 'The (legislation) is narrowly tailored to promote the state of Idaho's interest in protecting kids from those indecent sexual exhibitions,' Conzatti said. The House State Affairs Committee voted to introduce House Bill 230, clearing the way for a public hearing at a later date. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
