Penna Dexter

The U.S House of Representatives just passed a bill called the Global Respect Act. Supporters say it is meant to protect and foster respect for human rights in foreign countries. But it does the opposite. The bill elevates the so-called human rights of some individuals — those who identify as homosexual or transgender — over the rights of political, cultural, and religious leaders who refuse to advance the homosexual/transgender agenda. Six Republicans joined Democrats in giving the U.S. President power to impose a ban on U.S. entry to foreigners whom he deems responsible for being “complicit” in human rights violations against homosexual or transgender individuals in their countries. The United States has no business exporting the radical, woke gender ideology that the current administration is pushing domestically. According to this ideology, the failure to affirm someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity is a denial of human rights. The Center for Family and Human Rights (or C-Fam) monitors activities of the United Nations. C-Fam’s Stephen Gennarini has repeatedly reported on ways in which UN activists, human rights bodies, and staff “accuse religious believers of hate speech, incitement to violence, and even complicity in violence and torture when they express public disapproval of homosexual conduct and transgender ideology.” He says the effect of this bill “would be to deter free speech and undermine religious freedom around the world.” In floor debate, Rep. Claudia Tenney (NY) asked her colleagues, “Is a parent who rejects her minor child’s wish for a sex change complicit in cruelty?” And she asked, “Is the Pope engaging in degrading treatment when he expresses opposition to same-sex marriage?” The Daily Signal’s Grace Melton calls the Global Respect Act “ideological colonialism against countries and cultures that uphold traditional beliefs.” Visa sanctions under the Global Respect Act are narrower than current protections under federal law which enable the U.S. government to sanction foreign persons responsible for human rights violations against anyone. The Senate should reject this bill.