\n
![](\"https:\/\/media.swncdn.com\/via\/18225-transgender-flag-getty-images-nito100.jpg\"){kind=spacer}
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Christian leaders are condemning President Biden\u2019s proclamation of Easter Sunday as \u201cTransgender Day of Visibility,\u201d calling it an \u201cinsult\u201d to the religious beliefs of millions that is but the latest example of the White House\u2019s mixed priorities.<\/p>\n
Biden\u2019s proclamation<\/a> criticizes \u201chateful laws that target and terrify transgender kids\u201d — presumably laws that ban hormone treatments and limit male sports to biological males.<\/p>\n \u201cThese bills attack our most basic American values: \u00a0the freedom to be yourself, the freedom to make your own health care decisions, and even the right to raise your own child,\u201d it says.<\/p>\n It also urges Americans to \u201cwork toward eliminating violence and discrimination based on gender identity.\u201d<\/p>\n On Transgender Day of Visibility, we celebrate the joy, strength, and absolute courage of some of the bravest people I know.<\/p>\n Today, we show millions of transgender and nonbinary Americans that we see them, they belong, and they should be treated with dignity and respect. pic.twitter.com\/mhixHV9KC2<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) March 31, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cI, Joseph R. Biden Jr., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 31, 2024, as Transgender Day of Visibility,\u201d it says.<\/p>\n The Transgender Day of Visibility was launched in 2009 as an annual celebration by the LGBTQ community to be held every March 31. This year, it fell on Easter. The Obama administration, even though it held similar positions to that of the Biden administration, never issued a proclamation recognizing Transgender Day of Visibility. Biden, in 2021, was the first president to do so, and followed that with such proclamations in 2022 and 2023.<\/p>\n Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship, was among the Christian leaders who criticized the Biden administration.<\/p>\n This is really hard to believe.<\/p>\n President Biden issued a proclamation recognizing March 31 as Transgender Day of Visibility.<\/p>\n This is also the date of Easter where we celebrate the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. What is the president thinking?<\/p>\n This is a profound\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/jwxt61jjls<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Greg Laurie (@greglaurie) March 30, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cThis is a profound insult to the sincerely held religious beliefs of millions of Americans on our holiest day,\u201d Laurie said on social media. \u201cAmerica needs God more than ever and yet this is the stance the White House takes. It\u2019s time to turn back to God not turn our backs on God. We need to repent and pray for a spiritual awakening in America. It is our only hope.\u201d<\/p>\n Evangelist Franklin Graham said the proclamation \u201cshows how little respect President Biden and his administration have for God.\u201d<\/p>\n President Biden has declared tomorrow\u2014Easter Sunday\u2014as \u201cTransgender Day of Visibility.\u201d This once again shows how little respect President Biden and his administration have for God. On the most significant day of the Christian calendar, when the Church around the world celebrates\u2026<\/p>\n \u2014 Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) March 31, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cOn the most significant day of the Christian calendar, when the Church around the world celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ who died and shed His blood for the sins of mankind, the Biden administration uses this opportunity to flaunt sin, to glorify sin, and to celebrate sin,\u201d Graham said. \u201cThe Bible says, \u2018\u2026they proclaim their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them!\u2019 (Isaiah 3:9<\/a>). Judgment is coming. Instead of celebrating sin, we need to confess our sins, repent of our sins, and ask for God\u2019s forgiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said on his podcast The Briefing<\/em><\/a> that the White House cannot \u201cclaim that it wasn’t aware that this is Easter Sunday, and that this was going to be a head-on collision.\u201d The proclamation, he added, demonstrates \u201cwhere the political priorities are\u201d in the White House.<\/p>\n A White House spokesperson countered the criticism by saying that Biden, \u201cas a Christian who celebrates Easter with family\u2026 stands for bringing people together and upholding the dignity and freedoms of every American.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSadly, it’s unsurprising politicians are seeking to divide and weaken our country with cruel, hateful, and dishonest rhetoric. President Biden will never abuse his faith for political purposes or for profit,\u201d the spokesperson told ABC News<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mohler said the proclamation is another example of what he called the transgender movement\u2019s \u201cwar on reality.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Transgender Day of Visibility is backfiring,\u201d Mohler said. \u201cIt’s backfiring because the more you make the reality of the transgender claims visible, the less plausible they are in the larger society.\u201d<\/p>\n Image credit: \u00a9Getty Images\/Nito100<\/em><\/p>\n Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press,\u00a0<\/em>Christianity Today<\/em>, <\/em>The Christian Po<\/em>st, <\/em>the\u00a0<\/em>Leaf-Chronicle<\/em>,\u00a0<\/em>the Toronto Star<\/em> and\u00a0<\/em>the Knoxville News-Sentinel<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
\n
\n