With November 5 almost upon us, we cannot overstate the importance of this election for the future of life, family and religious freedom.
Recently there was an event at a campaign rally with Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris that helped crystalize the issues before us.
Two students at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse attended the rally, and when Kamala Harris celebrated abortion rights and slammed the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the students yelled out, “Christ is King” and “Jesus is Lord.”
In response, she stopped her remarks and said with a mocking tone, waving at them, “Oh, you guys are at the wrong rally — I think you meant to go to the smaller one down the street.”
But it got worse; not only were the two students ultimately ejected from the rally, but leading up to that, they said they were abused for their statements. “I was pushed by an elderly woman. We were heckled at, we were cursed at, we were mocked, and that’s the biggest thing for me personally,” one of them shared.
Now, let’s contrast that with the Vice-Presidential contender Senator JD Vance’s recent rally, also in Wisconsin. While he was talking about the importance of his faith, someone yelled out, “Jesus is King!” Vance takes a very different approach and affirms the declaration, stating: “That’s right. Jesus is King.”
This is a very interesting contrast given the breakdown of the American electorate. A recent Gallup poll asked the question, “Do you believe in God?” 81% of respondents said YES. And about 63% of the country identifies as Christian. In other words, they call Christ King, too.
So, when one campaign claps back at students for stating that truth, and the candidate’s people eventually remove them from the rally for their sentiments, the campaign isn’t just clapping back at these students. It is clapping back at all of us who love life and love God. In other words, the majority of the country.
Whether intentional or not, this sends a message that people of faith and conscience aren’t welcome; that they don’t have a place there. And that’s unfortunate because Americans from any walk of life should have a seat at the table with the ability to express their faith and point of view in the public square without fear of persecution or repercussion.
But sadly, this is not surprising, as Harris in the nominee for a party whose platform offers no mention of “God,” “Lord” or “Almighty” now. It was removed. She openly advocates for abortion without meaningful restriction — that’s what she means when she says she wants to “Restore Roe.” And if her administration can do it with our taxpayer dollars, even better. Moreover, when she served as Attorney General and then Senator for California, she led multiple efforts to infringe on the rights of conscience and religious liberty.
Friends, I’m not here to tell you who to vote for. After all, it’s clear that there’s no perfect candidate or perfect party, especially in this election. But for me, it comes down to two simple questions:
Which administration is more likely to listen to the pro-life, pro-family movement? And which one will be more likely to respect our First Amendment rights that are paramount to us being able to live out our faith in the public square, save lives, end abortion, and change the culture?
For me and the future of our sidewalk mission, it is clear.
Please join me in prayer as our country makes this critical decision that will no doubt impact our families and our freedoms. And above all, don’t forget to cast your vote by November 5!