May 19, 2023

Friends,

Tuesday and Thursday we had the privilege of hosting the Bayou Pastors & Acadiana Pastors at the Capitol. Prayer was everywhere…so too were providential encounters with key decision makers (see below for photo with Senate President Page Cortez)! Week 6 of the Louisiana legislature saw LFF-backed bills move forward and several bad bills -including the pro-abortion efforts - shelved for the session! Yet another very good week for faith, family and freedom. There are only 3 weeks left in the session, so bills which have not completed a pass through at least one chamber are in serious jeopardy of running out of time. These next few weeks will largely be focused on the legislature's top priority, the budget, followed closely by surplus savings or spending!

This week at the Capitol!

✅ HB 5 by Rep. Frieman - Provides for the payment of out-of-pocket pregnancy-related medical expenses from the father. PASSED SENATE JUDICIARY A

✅ HB  8 by Rep. Horton - Requires display of the national motto "In God We Trust" in every public K-12 classroom as funds are available. PASSED SENATE EDUCATION

✅ HB 68 by Rep. Hodges - Authorizes public school authority to offer a voluntary, religiously-neutral elective course in the history & literature of the Bible. PASSED SENATE EDUCATION

✅ HB 98 by Rep. Lance Harris - Universal School Choice. PASSED THE HOUSE

✅ HB 131 by Rep. McCormick - Constitutional carry without permit. PASSED CRIMINAL JUSTICE

✅ HB 260 by Rep. Beaullieu - Prohibits federal election directives & spending in Louisiana. PASSED HOUSE

✅ HB 311 by Rep. Miguez - Prohibits the use of funds from a foreign government or non-governmental source for state elections. PASSED THE HOUSE 70-30

✅ HB 443 by Rep. Edmonds - Authorizes a refundable income tax credit of $5,000 for a taxpayer who adopts an unrelated child less than 18 years of age. PASSED HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS

✅ HB 462 by Rep. Edmonds - Fiscal transparency for school boards. PASSED THE HOUSE

✅ HB 461 by Rep. DuBuisson - Abortion expansion - provides for exceptions to abortion: miscarriage, medical futility. INVOLUNTARILY DEFERRED IN HOUSE CRIMINAL JUSTICE

✅ HB 537 by Rep. Hodges - Prohibits the purchase, lease, or otherwise acquisition of immovable property by foreign adversaries or persons connected with such. PASSED HOUSE CIVIL LAW

✅ HB 598 by Rep. Newell - Abortion expansion - deals with ectopic pregnancy and medical futility. INVOLUNTARILY DEFERRED IN HOUSE CRIMINAL JUSTICE

✅ HB 648 by Rep. Firment - Establishes "Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act" in Louisiana and prohibits procedures that attempt to "alter" the gender of minors. PASSED THE HOUSE

✅ HB 657 by Rep. Beaullieu - A tax deduction for adoption of children from foster care and a tax credit for donations to foster care charitable organizations. PASSED HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS

✅ SB 7 by Sen. Cloud - Protects children from sexually explicit library porn. PASSED Senate  27-11

✅ SB 41 by Sen. Mizell - Credit on Louisiana income tax for donations to crisis pregnancy centers. PASSED SENATE 36-1

✅ SB 63 by Sen. Mizell - Constitutional amendment that says freedom of worship is fundamental right deserving the utmost protection from governmental interference. PASSED HOUSE CIVIL LAW

✅ SB 147 by Sen. Robert Mills - Authorizes the creation of a self-insurance fund for property insurance coverage on churches & nonprofit religious organizations. PASSED HOUSE INSURANCE

✅ SB 162 by Sen. McMath - Social media - disallows minors to hold a social media account unless consent from a parent or guardian is obtained. PASSED SENATE FINANCE

✅ SB 194 by Sen. Mizell - Bars liable for serving underage drinkers who harm themselves or others. PASSED THE SENATE 36-2

Next week is critical to passage of so many pro-family bills. Please pause and pray for wisdom, favor and good success for Team LFF and our allies!

Sign up for 60 Second Brigade HERE.

Follow the current status of the bills LFF is watching on our website.

President Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is engaging in viewpoint discrimination toward pro-lifers, calling those who care for the unborn "radicalized suspects."

The America First Legal Foundation obtained documents revealing that the DHS Office of Terrorism and Violence Prevention is planning to produce training videos instructing people how to identify extremists, including "radicalization suspects." Included in this list of potential threats are suburban pro-life mothers. 

The DHS came up with a prototype of an extremist, calling the woman “Ann.” Her profile reads, “While she has always been protective of her four kids, she has become increasingly more concerned about the welfare of other children, including the unborn.”

In other words, conservatives and Christians who believe in the basic scientific fact that life begins at conception are "extremists" in the eyes of our federal government. In reality, it is the federal government, which advocates for the murder of the preborn through all nine months of pregnancy, that is extreme and radical.

Four major corporations are following Bud Light’s lead in grooming children and promoting a harmful trans agenda. 

Target released a new line of trans clothes and books with messages such as “Trans people will always exist!” “Queer! Queer! Queer! Queer!” “Cure transphobia, not trans people,” and “Ask me about my pronouns.” 

The line even includes baby clothes and books such as My Sister Daisy, which tells the story of a boy who learns to treat his brother’s “gender [transition] with compassion.” Another book, The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish, is recommended for children 4-8 years old. The mega-retailer already offers chest binders and compression underwear to help children reject their God-given gender. 

Similarly, Levi Strauss has just launched a gender neutral clothing line in an attempt to normalize gender confusion. 

In addition, Starbucks, which already provides paid travel for employees to receive transgender surgeries, is advocating for the mutilation of children through commercials that are being aired globally. In a commercial with over a million views, a mom and dad meet with their gender-confused son, who "identifies" as a girl, at a Starbucks. The commercial shows the parents affirming their son’s new “gender identity.”

Lastly, Sports Illustrated is featuring a gender-confused man on its 2023 swimsuit edition. 

Pandering to the woke mob, targeting kids, and rejecting God’s design is hardly a path to prosperity. Parents, beware the corporations that force darkness.

Friends, our culture and our federal government have rejected the truth and are promoting mass delusion in its place. The good news is that in the end, the Truth always prevails. Do not be discouraged by the darkness surrounding us, but find hope in the One who has overcome all evil! “And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1:5).

In His Service,

Gene Mills
President
Louisiana Family Forum

P.S. We just heard that Pastor Tim Keller has passed on to his reward! Thank you, Lord, for shining examples of principled influence and gospel-centered ministry!