Ryan Anderson: Houston’s LGBT Rights Law Would Impose “Ruinous Liability” On Anti-Gay Christians

“HERO would impose new, and potentially ruinous liability on innocent citizens for alleged ‘discrimination’ based not on objective traits, but on subjective and unverifiable identities. HERO would further increase government interference in markets, potentially discouraging economic growth and job creation. And, as to issues surrounding ‘gender identity’ and ‘transgender’ teachers, students and employees, HERO could require education and employment policies concerning schoolhouse, locker room, and workplace conditions that undermine common sense.

“But the damage of HERO is not only economic. It also threatens the freedom of citizens, individually and in associations, to affirm their religious or moral convictions—convictions such as that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, and that maleness and femaleness are objectively rooted in biology, and should be valued and affirmed, not rejected or altered. Under HERO, acting reasonably on these beliefs could be made illegal.” – Ryan T. Anderson, writing for the Heritage Foundation.