Explainer: Biden signs bill making lynching a federal hate crime

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden signed the Emmett Till Antilynching Act into law, making lynching a federal hate crime. The new law ends a 122-year effort to make lynching a federal crime.

Are you ready for the Supreme Court decision on abortion?

Right now, the Supreme Court is considering the most important abortion case in a generation: Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. As we prepare for the ruling in this case, we want to be faithful to pray.

This free Dobbs prayer guide contains a list of 48 specific prayer requests to guide you, your family, and your church in your prayers over the coming weeks and months.

This Week in Washington, D.C.

This week, President Biden released his FY 2023 budget proposal. While a budget proposal has no binding authority over Congress. It is a request and a statement of priorities and serves as a starting point for a long negotiation in Congress as they work on the 12 spending appropriations bills that fund the government.

President Biden’s proposal included some very concerning increases in funding for abortion providers and harmful language dealing with sexual orientation and gender identity. Notably, for only the second time since its inception in 1976, the Hyde Amendment and other pro-life riders were excluded from the proposal.
The ERLC will continue to advocate for the ultimate inclusion of these protections, just as we did in FY 2022.

The president’s proposal also contained funding for several ERLC priorities, particularly the rebuilding of the refugees resettlement program and investments in our immigration system. We were grateful to see these investments in infrastructure that can assist the United States more effectively be a place of refuge for the vulnerable.

You can read more about President Biden’s budget proposal and how the ERLC is advocating throughout the appropriations process here.

Featured Podcasts

On this week's episode of the ERLC Podcast, Brent and Lindsay discuss U.S. intel about Putin being misled, President Biden’s gaffe, and the Florida gender identity education law. They also talk about the new gender x passports coming out in April, what you should know about Biden’s budget proposal, and a Christian’s response during tumultuous times.

On the Digital Public Square podcast, Dr. Jordan Ballor, director of research at the Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy as well as co-editor of Abraham Kuyper’s Collected Works in Public Theology with Lexham Press, joins Jason Thacker to talk about the life and work of Abraham Kuyper and the task of public theology and Christian ethics.

From The Public Square

Explainer: DeSantis signs Florida gender identity education law
Baptist Press

The new law bars instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through the third grade. Republicans argue that parents should broach these subjects with children. Democrats have said the law demonizes LGBTQ people by excluding them from classroom lessons.

Utah governor becomes latest to veto transgender sports ban
Politico

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox vetoed a ban on transgender students playing girls’ sports on Tuesday, becoming the second Republican governor to overrule state lawmakers who have taken on youth sports in a broader culture war over how Americans view gender and sexuality.

U.S. sanctions officials in China over persecution of Uyghurs and other minorities
CBS News

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced new visa restrictions on Chinese officials Monday for their actions to repress ethnic and religious minorities both inside and outside the country.

Aghan refugees in US to receive temporary protected status
Associated Press

Afghan refugees in the U.S. will be allowed to stay for at least 18 months under temporary protected status, a move that'll help some of the thousands who arrived following the American withdrawal from their country.

What You Need to Read

Paul D. Miller with How Christians should respond during war and other tumultuous times: Gardening through the apocalypse

In the new creation, those of us in Christ will meet our ancestors and our progeny and swap war stories about what we witnessed and suffered, and we will recognize that suffering well and cultivating our garden amidst the turmoil of our times is what gave us ballast, depth, and solidity — as well as compassion, empathy, love, and an opportunity to glorify God.

Chelsea Sobolik and Hannah Daniel with Explainer: What you should know about President Biden’s budget proposal

Each year, the ERLC is actively engaged in the appropriations process, working alongside committee and leadership offices to ensure that important pro-life, religious liberty, and conscience protections are included and harmful policies are excluded. The ERLC will continuously advocate for the inclusion of these pro-life provisions as well as other legislative measures that reflect God’s gracious love for every human life around the world.

Lindsay Nicolet with The importance of the first African American leading an SBC entity: An interview with Willie McLaurin on racial unity, and the future of our churches

"I am honored to be the first African American to lead an SBC entity, even if only for an interim season. So many people have paved a path for me. I am standing on the shoulders of many who have gone before me, and I’m thankful for ministry leaders, past and present, who believed in me and gave me an opportunity to serve in various capacities. When I began serving in denominational work in 2004, my goal was to simply be faithful where the Lord planted me."