The persecution of Christians is sadly growing in the United States, a country founded on religious liberty. There is a concerted effort employing intimidation and threats of violence to shut down Christian organizations and silence believers.
The Family Foundation of Virginia is the largest and oldest pro-family advocacy organization in the commonwealth. The group is pro-life, pro-religious liberty and pro-marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
The foundation recently planned to bring together some of their supporters at a restaurant in Richmond to be updated on the group's work. Ninety minutes before the meal, the restaurant's owners called to say the event was cancelled because the waitstaff refused to serve the group. Their executive director, Victoria Cobb, was told that the Family Foundation's pro-life and pro-traditional marriage positions violated basic "human rights."
Not far away, in Washington, D.C., the Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center was also a target of the neo-Marxist left's intolerance. The center's annual fundraising banquet, being held in nearby Northern Virginia, was disrupted by shouting, cursing, pro-death protestors who infiltrated the venue. Pro-life attendees were subjected to a chorus of expletives interrupting the speakers, including a young mother who had chosen life and was there with her baby.
Halfway across the country at the University of Nebraska, a note left at the John Paul II Newman Center threatened to shoot pro-life students. The Omaha Police Department is investigating the threat which read, "If our right to abortion… is taken away…we will shoot up your Newman Center with our new AR-14 rifles." It was signed "Jane's Revenge," a radical group claiming responsibility for attacks on CPCs across the country.
Sadly, this is just a sample of what is happening all over America, while no action is being taken by federal law enforcement. The Dr. James Dobson Family Institute will continue to fight against this growing intolerance and intimidation. We urge pastors and church leaders to boldly speak up against the growing number of hate crimes against followers of Jesus Christ.