JEFFERSON CITY – A bill that could have threatened Missouri churches and faith institutions has apparently died in the Missouri General Assembly, and the prospects of it resurfacing is unlikely with this year’s legislative session set to end May 14.
Dubbed the Missouri Equality Act due to its likeness to the radical Equality Act moving through the U.S. Congress that would threaten the religious freedom of Americans, it could have forced faith-based institutions – like the Missouri Baptist Convention’s three universities, The Baptist Home and the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home to house and hire LGBTQ people. It could have forced the MBCH to place foster care children with homosexuals and would have forced homosexual adoption on the MBCH. Because it would have included public accommodation it could have forced women and children to share bathrooms and locker rooms with people of the opposite sex.
The bill contained no protection for religious freedom.
Similar bills have been introduced in the Missouri General Assembly every year for more than a decade, only to be defeated each time.