A Bible Belt city known for its country and Christian music has joined other communities in passing ordinances concerning sexual orientation.
Nashville, Tennessee, is home to the Southern Baptist Convention's national headquarters, host of the annual gathering of the National Religious Broadcasters, and arguably the base of the Christian music industry. Now the Nashville City Council has passed an anti-discrimination ordinance to protect the homosexuals who work for companies that contract with the city. The bill passed by the thinnest of margins, as opponents argued that city contractors should not be forced to compromise their moral and religious values.
Had the ordinance been presented as a referendum before the general public, Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), says it would have been defeated.
"Clearly the metro council members, a majority of them succumbed to the...intense lobbying of a minority that wants special rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people," Land laments. And the result, he told The Associated Press, "could lead to disastrous and ethical conflicts" for some business people.
The ERLC president worked with the Southern Baptist Convention of Tennessee in opposition to the ordinance after it was introduced when questions were raised about whether a soccer coach at Belmont University in Nashville was forced out of the Christian school last year because of her sexual orientation.
"So a six-foot guy who shaves every day can come in wearing a dress, high heels, and earrings and tell his employer that he's really a woman and he wants to use the women's bathroom facilities, and there's nothing the employer can do to stop him if he wants to do business in metro," Land explains.
The council maintains, however, that religious institutions are exempt from the new law.
'Gays' in music business
Mike Curb, a trustee emeritus and major donor at Belmont University -- which broke its affiliation with the Southern Baptist Convention in 2007 -- lobbied hard last year for the school to rehire former soccer coach Lisa Howe, saying: "It's time for Belmont to change...." The Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business is the largest college at Belmont.
The Tennessean quotes Curb as arguing that the school's board members are "out of touch" with the reality of life at the School of Music Business. "Many of those students are gay," he said. "And no matter what their sexual orientation, Belmont graduates will work with gay colleagues in the music business when they graduate. Belmont has to decide whether they want to be a national recognized university -- particularly with their school of music business -- or they want to be a church."
Curb has been involved in the contemporary Christian music business since its inception, signing such notables as the 2nd Chapter of Acts, DeGarmo and Key, and Debbie Boone. More recently Curb Records has seen success with Nicole C. Mullen, Mark Schultz, MercyMe, and the 2010 Gospel Music Association's Female Vocalist of the Year Francesca Battistelli. –One News Now
Nashville, Tennessee, is home to the Southern Baptist Convention's national headquarters, host of the annual gathering of the National Religious Broadcasters, and arguably the base of the Christian music industry. Now the Nashville City Council has passed an anti-discrimination ordinance to protect the homosexuals who work for companies that contract with the city. The bill passed by the thinnest of margins, as opponents argued that city contractors should not be forced to compromise their moral and religious values.
Had the ordinance been presented as a referendum before the general public, Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), says it would have been defeated.
"Clearly the metro council members, a majority of them succumbed to the...intense lobbying of a minority that wants special rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people," Land laments. And the result, he told The Associated Press, "could lead to disastrous and ethical conflicts" for some business people.
The ERLC president worked with the Southern Baptist Convention of Tennessee in opposition to the ordinance after it was introduced when questions were raised about whether a soccer coach at Belmont University in Nashville was forced out of the Christian school last year because of her sexual orientation.
"So a six-foot guy who shaves every day can come in wearing a dress, high heels, and earrings and tell his employer that he's really a woman and he wants to use the women's bathroom facilities, and there's nothing the employer can do to stop him if he wants to do business in metro," Land explains.
The council maintains, however, that religious institutions are exempt from the new law.
'Gays' in music business
Mike Curb, a trustee emeritus and major donor at Belmont University -- which broke its affiliation with the Southern Baptist Convention in 2007 -- lobbied hard last year for the school to rehire former soccer coach Lisa Howe, saying: "It's time for Belmont to change...." The Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business is the largest college at Belmont.
The Tennessean quotes Curb as arguing that the school's board members are "out of touch" with the reality of life at the School of Music Business. "Many of those students are gay," he said. "And no matter what their sexual orientation, Belmont graduates will work with gay colleagues in the music business when they graduate. Belmont has to decide whether they want to be a national recognized university -- particularly with their school of music business -- or they want to be a church."
Curb has been involved in the contemporary Christian music business since its inception, signing such notables as the 2nd Chapter of Acts, DeGarmo and Key, and Debbie Boone. More recently Curb Records has seen success with Nicole C. Mullen, Mark Schultz, MercyMe, and the 2010 Gospel Music Association's Female Vocalist of the Year Francesca Battistelli. –One News Now
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