In a major court ruling that will have long-term implications, attorneys are now able to question potential jurors for a trial about biases they may have against the LGBT:
A Florida judge’s decision not to allow attorneys to question jurors about potential biases against LGBT individuals, in the midst of a trial between Raymond Berthiaume, who is gay, and the city of Key West sparked a precedent-setting appeals court battle.
A team from Akerman and LGBT advocates pushed back against the judge’s decision and took the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, arguing for basic civil rights that would be given to protected classes to ensure fair legal proceedings.
Berthiaume was entrenched in a battle with the city of Key West over allegations of excessive force, false arrest and imprisonment. The Eleventh Circuit sided with him and granted new trial.
Lambda Legal and the National LGBT Bar Association both hailed the victory as a major win for the LGBT community and as a precedent in favor of protections for LGBT individuals in legal disputes.
Akerman partner Whitney Untiedt, who serves as director of pro bono initiatives, said the case was an “obvious yes” to take as the firm has focused on serving the LGBT population in its pro bono work.“Winning always feels good, but the main reason we took this case is because lawyers needed to stand up on behalf of this individual who was discriminated against in the jury selection process,” Untiedt said. “We wanted to stand up and say out loud that you can’t treat LGBT people any differently from anyone else.”
Berthiaume was represented on appeal by a team of attorneys with Akerman in Tallahassee, including Ryan O’Connor, Dale Noll, Katherine Giddings and Untiedt, along with trial lawyer Hugh Koerner, who has a law office in Hollywood, Florida. Akerman attorney Noll is current president of the National LGBT Bar Association, which, along with other gay rights groups including Lambda Legal, filed friend-of-the-court briefs in the case. (source)
The fact is that a majority of American are pro-homosexual. Using the statistics from 2016, on the issue of “marriage” alone- NOT the support of the LGBT as a whole- 63% of the country supports it. When just millennials are included, that number goes up to 75%, and Generation Z is going to come in even higher.
The reason why homosexuality has made such tremendous advances in the culture is because a majority of Americans support their behavior. With the new laws that have taken effect on Federal regulations and in many states, opposition to the LGBT is being criminalized. That is, to stand for the Biblical teaching on homosexuality is to make oneself a pariah and open oneself up to prosecution as a criminal. “Religious exemptions” are not working either because as it was shown recently in California, some states are saying that religion cannot be used as an “exemption” to avoid exposing one’s child to the LGBT in school.
The mere fact that 5 out of every 8 Americans supports homosexuality regardless of generation means that pro-homosexuality is the majority opinion. Therefore, in the case of a random jury of 8 people, the majority will support homosexuality almost every time.
The fact that the LGBT now wants an examination for “LGBT bias” is a sign of the state of the nation and a warning for Christians. Just look at the article- there is a reason the LGBT took on this case pro bono- because they understand the implications are major.
If you are a Christian, especially if you stand against the LGBT, it is already becoming more difficult to find and hold work because prospective employers discriminate against people on the basis of their opposition to the LGBT in the same way that the LGBT claims that people have discriminated against them because of their orientations. The LGBT did not actually eliminate any social discrimination, but they simply “reversed” the standards so that discrimination would be in their favor.
In a legal context and combination with the laws that make homosexuality a “civil rights” issue, it allows for a jury to explicitly target people who oppose homosexuality and replace them with people who support homosexuality. It makes it very difficult for a Christian, especially one who believes in his faith and stands up against homosexuality, to have a truly balanced trial because any evidence considered will, in the minds of many people, be made second to the man’s position on homosexuality.
This is the greatest danger to Christians in America regarding this and many other issues, which is that as dictatorial policies take root in America, they will not show their face per se as they did in the old world. Rather, they will be implemented by judges in courtrooms, accepted by society as the “status quo,” and then enforced by legal actions with social support so to cut off any ability to resist before it could grow.
And, as in the case here, the voices which would oppose the LGBT will not even be allowed to be heard as they would be cut off in the name of “tolerance” and preventing “hate speech.”