The Truth of the Matter: Houston’s Mayor and Her Overreach

Recently, Houston’s Mayor, Annise Parker ordered city attorneys to issue subpoenas to several area church pastors. These subpoenas where for transcripts of the sermons given because they allegedly caused a conflict with anti-discrimination laws she helped enact. Many on the opposing side argued loudly that it crossed boundaries as a clear violation of the First Amendment.

Really? I thought. More like screamed at my radio. I will not debate the merits of the subpoenas, because they are so clearly unconstitutional, but rather the content of the rebuttal.

Ignorance of civic matters is tragically just as big a problem in the Lone Star State as any. The educational indoctrination has brainwashed the masses just as effectively in my country as others! While I was thinking that someone on the side of the Constitution and Liberty would surely see an issue with the rebuttal; I heard only crickets. Just like the Astros, we saw a hanging curveball over the meat of the plate and did everything we could not to smash it out of the ballpark. Even Senator Cruz and the Texas A.G. Abbott drank the kool-aid and claimed it was a clear violation the First Amendment!

This will be corrected now.

How, I ask, can the document that restrains the National Government possibly direct a city matter? It can not. Therefore, it isn’t a First Amendment issue because no one in the National Government requested these subpoenas. It is clearly an issue for the Texas Constitution. In the 1891 edition, Article 1, Section 6 states:

“All men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences. No human authority ought, in any case whatever, to control or interfere with the rights of conscience in matters of religion….”

So then, the people speaking so loudly in opposition should have taken a bit more time thinking and a lot less time with the knee-jerk reactions. When dealing with local or state level issues, one should first look at what the individual sovereign state’s own Constitution says before using the default of the United States Constitution. I didn’t have to go far to find the appropriate section in the Texas Constitution about religious liberty, it is on the first page! To my knowledge, no news outlet or reporter has come out to highlight this obvious error. I believe, sadly, that this is due to a lack of civic intelligence and laziness from the masses.