Houston Mayor Annise Parker has been inundated with between 500 and 1,000 Bibles in the days since she subpoenaed five faith leaders for their sermons to check for anti-gay, overly political rhetoric.
The subpoenas were based on rooting out violations of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance that the mayor signed in May.
In an interview with The Blaze, the pastor of Grace Community Church, Steve Riggle, said city officials not only demanded to preview his sermons, but also ordered him to turn over 17 different pieces of communication in which he referenced the mayor’s name.
In response to the subpoenas, The Blaze’s Glenn Beck, Fox News’ Mike Huckabee and Sen. Ted Cruz said that Americans around the nation should mail in religious documents — including the Bible — to the mayor’s office and to City Hall.
Since, Americans have responded and mailed in hundreds of Bibles, The Blaze reported.
Ms. Parker told KHOU-TV that she has indeed received Bibles and that Mr. Huckabee is “doing what he can to pump ratings for Fox News.” She also said that the campaign has proven a “very productive way for folks who disagreed with our legal strategy to express that disagreement,” and that she plans to give the Bibles to local churches, The Blaze reported.
Shortly after news of the city’s subpoenas made the national headlines, Houston officials decided to back off the request.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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