This letter was mailed to Mayor Sandi Bloem and members of the city council on Friday. It is too long for tomorrow's print edition of The Press, but we hope to publish an excerpt along with other comments on the proposed ordinance. What do you think of Mr. Perkins' letter?

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Re: The “Gay Rights” ordinance you are considering.

To believe in God is to believe that there is an entity outside our lives and outside our control Who makes the rules. And for several thousand years people on this planet have trusted the Holy Bible to be the rules and instructions from our Creator God.

The Bible says mankind has been corrupted and needs a Savior. The Bible defines sin and promises hope through an optional personal relationship with Jesus Christ Who singularly and completely paid the price for our sin.

Christians personally choose to believe and trust the Bible to be the Word of God. It’s the sole basis for our religion, Christianity. We endeavor to follow its commands that God outlined for our protection.

I’m grateful that we live in a country that, in its foundational documents, protects our right to live and worship as we wish. The first words penned in the U.S. Declaration of Independence say:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

America’s Founding Fathers wrote that they believed they were “created” by a God outside their lives and outside their control. They not only believed in a creator God, but also in ”life, liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Therefore, Americans have the liberty and freedom to worship in any way they choose to “pursue happiness.”

The Bible also says that there is an always present evil in the world. So our Founding Fathers wrote in the next sentence:

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That

whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government,

The Founding Fathers recognized that evil is present in the world, and when it becomes destructive of these

principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, it is our right to “alter or abolish.”

The Founding Fathers further set up a constitution for a government whose powers are derived from the “consent of the governed.” We freely elect who we want to defend our constitution.

Every person elected to public office takes an oath to protect and defend the constitution, to protect our lives, liberty and opportunity to pursue happiness.

After the constitution was enacted, the very first item in the Bill of Rights was to further guarantee our right to worship as we please.

First Amendment to the Constitution:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

That states clearly that the government cannot pass a law “prohibiting the free exercise” of my chosen religion. It’s not stating “freedom from religion,” but rather, “freedom of religion.”

Fast-forwarding some 237 years, my liberty to worship and live my life according to Biblical principles is being viciously attacked.

Out of the blue, our local city government is being pressured into passing an ordinance to protect “Gay Rights.”

It turns out that there is a national agenda and concerted effort across the United States to pass laws in cities to give “protections to a persecuted minority.”

Is it the same as Civil Rights in the 60s?

The proponents of such a law compare it to Blacks and the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. But is it? No it’s not the same, for two reasons.

First, according to my Bible and therefore my religion, homosexual behavior is sinful (Lev 18:22; 1Cor 6:9-11). “Sin” literally means “missing the mark”. It means NOT being the person who God, in His love, created us to be.

When God created us in His image, it was the supreme act of divine love, and everything in His instructions is designed for OUR good, to enhance the life He has given us. When we sin, or miss that mark, as we all do, the Bible says we are pursuing not life, but death.

“The wages of sin is death” Rom 6:23

When humans choose to do homosexual acts, God and His Bible say it’s blatant sin. If you have a problem with that assessment, then take it up with God.

Second, God is not a racist and the Bible says He doesn’t discriminate against the color of a person’s skin. There is no such thing as a “Former black person,” But there are thousands of “former homosexuals.”

There are at least 19 studies that include tangible data suggesting that homosexual orientation can be changed. So this is NOT like the civil rights movement!

Homosexuality is clearly voluntary

There is no homosexual gene. Scientists have searched and searched for a “gay gene,” and some false findings have surfaced from time to time, but no one has ever found one. It doesn’t exist.

Homosexual behavior is not inborn but rather, voluntary. There is no compelling, logical basis for treating it as a protected category under civil rights laws, or for granting special protection against “discrimination” based on “sexual orientation.”

“SIN” VS “SINNER”

Also, it is the “sin,” not the “sinner,” that the Bible condemns. We, according to the Bible, are ALL sinners. ALL have fallen short of God’s standard. That’s why we need a Savior, to save us from our sin.

A Christian is just as much a sinner as anyone else. God, through His Holy Word, the Bible, defines what sin is and the remedy to overcome the penalty of sin.

Therefore, whatever God defines as sin, it’s His decision and we have no appeal.

God defines adultery as sin, therefore Christians must accept it and flee from it. We may be born with a propensity toward adultery, because we’re born with a sin nature. But because God says it’s wrong, adultery is wrong.

God defines lying as sin, therefore Christians must accept it and flee from it. We may be born with a propensity toward lying because we’re born with a sin nature. But because God says it’s wrong, lying is wrong.

God defines murder as sin, therefore Christians must accept it and flee from it. We may be born with a propensity toward murder because we’re born with a sin nature. But because God says it’s wrong, murder is wrong.

And God defines homosexual behavior as sin, Christians must accept it and flee from it. We may be born with a propensity toward homosexual behavior because we’re born with a sin nature. But because God says it’s wrong, homosexual behavior is wrong.

Therefore God decides what is right and wrong, not humans. And God warns us that homosexual behavior is sinful.

Sad Realities

Although homosexuality is presented to society as a healthy—and sometimes even superior—alternative to heterosexuality, the truth is that homosexual behavior represents a serious threat to individual and public health.

Up until 1973, homosexual behavior was classified and treated as a psychiatric illness--abnormal behavior. It was removed due to political pressure. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand why.

The American Medical Association (AMA) says homosexuals are:

> Six times more likely to attempt suicide;

> Five times more likely to smoke;

> Five times more likely to suffer alcohol abuse,

> Four times more likely to suffer sever depression,

> Four times more likely to suffer bi-polar disorder,

> Four times more likely to suffer panic disorder

> Four times more likely to suffer obsessive compulsive disorder;

> and four times more likely to suffer conduct disorder.

Those with a history of homosexual behavior have an “extraordinary frequency” of:

> anal cancer,

> chlamydia,

> herpes,

> HIV,

> human papilloma virus,

> genital warts,

> gonorrhea,

> hepatitis B and C.

And homosexuals are 10 times more likely to get infected with syphilis!

The mental issues with homosexuals are legendary. One example of “not-playing-with-a-full-deck-of-cards” is what is called “Bug Chasing.” This disturbing phenomenon is aptly named because of the surprisingly large number of homosexuals purposefully having unprotected sex with those who already have HIV, in order that they contract the virus... so they will not “feel left out.”

Homosexuality accounts for virtually all the increasing number of sexually transmitted infections that are not generally transmitted though sexual contact.

Studies indicate that the average homosexual has hundreds of sex partners in a lifetime. In one study, 43% of male homosexuals had sex with 500 or more partners and 28% with over 1000 partners. Less than 3% claimed to have sex with only one partner.

While homosexuals, the media, and even some in the medical profession portray homosexuality as healthy and normal, homosexual behaviors put individuals at risk for serious physical health problems.

Anal sex also exposes individuals to fecal matter, which can lead to a number of gastrointestinal infections, such as proctitis, enteritis, and proctocolitis.

The average lifespan of homosexuals is 8 to 20 years LESS than for the general population. So it’s safe to say that homosexual behavior is not healthy.

The bottom line (no pun intended) is that the rectum was not designed for sexual intercourse. Due to the thin walls and rich blood supply, the chance of receiving an infection is greatly increased.

The Hidden Agenda

To get past these problems, the homosexual activists have moved the argument from homosexual behavior to a social question.

Homosexual activitist know that if the extremely harmful mental and health issues are known, it is difficult to pass off homosexuality as a normal, acceptable alternative lifestyle. And they’re not being honest about the ultimate goal of destroying the Biblically oriented family unit.

Masha Gessen is a well-known LGBT activist, writer and columnist who now lives in Russia. She gave a speech in 2012 that recently went “viral,” in which she says:

“Fighting for gay marriage generally involves lying about what we are going to do with marriage when we get there … You know, because we lie that the institution of marriage is not going to change, and that is a lie. The institution of marriage is going to change, and it should change, and again, I don’t think that [marriage] should exist. And I would like to live in a legal system that is capable of reflecting that reality”

She makes a good point. Legalization of same-sex marriage compromises the institution of marriage and thus undermines the family built on the foundation of marriage.

Friedrich Engels, a communist, wrote The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the States, and disclosed the liberals game plan-- change the concept of matrimony, and the traditional family will cease to exist. Once the family is gone, society will fall apart. Take out the marriage foundation and the whole society will crumble.

Facts are Facts

So despite all the facts, there is a national effort to ignore the facts and legitimize homosexual behavior. The public deserves honest information about the sexual realities of the homosexual lifestyle, the serious health risks that come with it and the ramifications to a society that embraces such evil.

Do you realize that never in the history of mankind has a single society ever attempted to substitute homosexual relationships for traditional marriage? Marriage has always been universally viewed as a God-ordained arrangement to glorify God and pro-create in God’s image.

So the deluded homosexual activists bravely march on, threatening nasty and expensive lawsuits if the local ordinances are not passed. They have deep financial pockets and most cities aren’t interested in the huge cost of a perceived legal fight.

But when ordinances are passed, they force Christians to both lose rights and to have to sin to comply. For instance, a privately owned Christian bakery would be forced to bake a wedding cake with homosexual decorations.

A Christian wedding photographer would be forced to take pictures for a homosexual wedding.

You think that’s not going to happen? The New Mexico Court of Appeals recently upheld a ruling by the state’s Civil Rights Commission that a Christian photographer who refused to take pictures of a gay couple’s commitment ceremony violated the state’s discrimination law.

Elane Photography Studio is owned by a Christian husband and wife and declined to photograph the homosexual’s ceremony, citing their religious beliefs.

The homosexuals sued and the Christians were found guilty of “sexual orientation” discrimination. The court, in effect, is saying that Christians cannot be Christians. And then they fined the couple $7,000!

In New Jersey, a lesbian couple filed a complaint with the state attorney general’s office because a Methodist Camp would not allow the lesbians to have a same-sex wedding on the private property. New Jersey stripped the camp of it’s tax-exempt status because it said the camp was discriminating based on “sexual orientation.”

The “what if” examples are endless. Do you see where this is going? In Canada it’s illegal to read certain Bible verses in public. Imagine going to jail for reading scripture. They’ve threatened and won against the Boy Scouts.

But this is only the beginning. This homosexual agenda is not for equal rights or civil rights as homosexuals have never been denied constitutional rights as a class. It’s part of a larger agenda to compromise the last obstacles to a new world order.

The Council should vote to represent the citizens, regardless of the threats. It’s time we draw a line in the sand and deter the homosexual goal of forcing society to acquiesce to their agenda. Because if we allow what they are demanding, Christians will eventually have to give up being Christians. That’s worth engaging the fight.

If a national or local law is passed that does not protect my liberties and instead violates the constitution, it’s my right to fight.

“whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government”

If a law is passed that in effect says that Christians have to give up their religion (sin) in order for homosexuals to have rights, I am commanded to fight the good fight. And I will. And there are enough people in Kootenai County to recall the mayor and council and institute a new governing body who respect God and defend my rights.

It’s time to pray for our country and for wisdom in our responses to actions aimed directly at our Christian beliefs.

I pray God is giving us one last chance to awaken a national conviction and repentance.

I pray you decline to pass this ordinance.

Bill Perkins

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho