RELIGION HEADLINES

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(SRN NEWS) – Kentucky lawmakers have passed a bill that protects so-called conversion therapy.  The measure would eliminate Democratic Governor Andy Beshear’s executive order forbidding licensed counselors from helping anyone under the age of 18 abandon the homosexual lifestyle.  The bill would also outlaw the use of Medicaid funds to pay for sex-change operations on children.  Beshear has denounced the legislation, but it passed with veto-proof majorities and will become law.  A growing number of states are passing similar measures.

Hungary’s ruling coalition has submitted a bill to parliament that would ban gay pride parades.  The legislation would make it an offense to hold or attend any events that violate Hungary’s child protection statutes, which prohibit the depiction or promotion of homosexuality to children.  The new bill is almost certain to pass, as the ruling coalition has a two-thirds majority in parliament.  Hungary’s government has vowed to oppose the LGBT agenda wherever it concerns kids, despite opposition from the European Union and well-funded gay pressure groups. 

A three-judge panel of the 10 District Court of Appeals has ruled that Ohio’s ban on sex-change operations for children is unconstitutional.  The state vows to appeal.  The law bans counseling, surgery and hormone therapy to help anyone under the age of 18 live as the opposite sex.  The appeals panel ruled that the ban is unlawful because it targets only patients seeking sex-change operations and exceeds the state’s power to override the wishes of parents.  Governor Mike DeWine tried unsuccessfully to veto the law in 2023. 

Officials with the United Methodist Church report that giving to denomination-wide ministries fell by about 13 percent last year to 91 million dollars.  The UMC is coming out of a years-long schism over its embrace of homosexuality that saw a quarter of its U.S. churches quit the denomination.  Many joined a more conservative organization before the General Conference in 2024 removed its longstanding bans on gay marriage and ordination.  United Methodist agencies currently have 503 full-time employees, down 36 percent since 2016.