The war on Christmas has started this year, sadly in Texas. Texas Values staff is at the City Council now.  Tonight,  the city council of Taylor, Texas (in Williamson County/Central Texas) will meet to take action on a 300-page agenda.  Agenda Item 13 (pgs. 266-270), a new policy that disqualifies and essentially bans Christians from being a part of city-sponsored events including Christmas parades. Also, if a church or Christian nonprofit wants to participate in a special city event they will be forced by the government to adopt a dangerous and controversial LGBT sexual orientation and gender identity policy that is not even recognized in state law. 

Can you donate right now to help us continue to fight to protect peoples' rights to celebrate Christmas?

The language of the egregious policy says "Examples of requests that are typically deemed ineligible include...individuals, organizations...who....represent religions..." The city council plans to vote TODAY on this issue. Click this link for more details if you live in the Taylor, Texas area of know friends or family who do. Alert: Christians Banned from Christmas Parade in the City of Taylor | Texas ValuesTexas Values (txvalues.org) Our team will be there to assist on the ground in Taylor and from our office.

The city council's move comes mere days after the City of Taylor withdrew a sponsorship for a Christmas parade from a church-based Christian group while having a separate city-sponsored Christmas parade which included an LGBT group and Drag Queen performers. You read that right; the City of Taylor chose Drag Queens over Christians and churches for their Texas Christmas Parade. After intense public attention and media coverage, the city allowed the Christian and church groups to have a separate parade this past Saturday. But, now it appears the city government wants to permanently ban Christians and churches from participation in such city events in the future, since they have proposed this new rule for the first time this week and they are scheduled to vote today!! 
          As our team works overtime on this issue today and moving forward, please send your most generous donation so we can “Keep Christ in Christmas” and stop this and other War on Christmas attempts to punish and silence Christians in Texas.  You know we have been the leading group in Texas since our founding in 2012 that fights every year to protect Christmas as we highlighted in this recent article.

We at Texas Values cannot fully enjoy and celebrate Christmas if our fellow Christians are denied the same right. Please forward this email to friends and family, follow our work on social media, and please give generously today or soon to help us on this time-sensitive issue!! With your help we can all have a Merry Christmas in Texas.

Blessings-Jonathan Saenz and the Texas Values team