About 57 pastors of color across the U.S. have signed an open letter to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary urging them to oppose the Equality Act. The committee is set to hold hearings on the Equality Act on Wednesday morning. . . .

“While we maintain the historic Christian sexual ethic, we want to clearly state our support for federal protections for LGBT persons in employment, housing and the like. We’re committed to embracing and advocating for those safeguards.”

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However, regarding the Equality Act, the leaders contended that the legislation falls short of “the standard necessary to cultivate a healthy pluralistic society.” While “certain provisions” are upheld, they do not believe that the Equality Act, as a whole, provides “thoughtful and civic dialogue or a transparent policy-making process.”

The pastors also noted that the legislation was “not discussed in detail” with a variety of faith leaders who will “bear the brunt of its excesses”, including people of Jewish, Sikh, Buddhist, and Muslim faiths.

“We can defend the rights of the LGBT community without threatening religious communities,” they asserted.

The letter continues by highlighting that the Equality Act removes the rights for religious organizations to function in accordance to “the tenets of their faith” while permitting LGBT rights “to be used as a sword against faith institutions rather than a shield to protect the vulnerable.” . . .

“Black and Brown Christians worked too hard for the Civil Rights Act to have it revised in ways that would take away basic rights and funding from our communities,” the pastors wrote. “The Equality Act needlessly pits the concerns of diverse communities against each other.”

(Excerpt from Christian Headlines. Photo Credit: Unsplash.)