How the Equality Act Will Threaten Pulse Survivors’ Ministries

Editor’s Note: The Child & Parental Rights Campaign provides useful resources including a summary of HR 5 and sample letters for individuals, churches and networks to send to their respective senators. An informative PowerPoint presentation that highlights an overview of the legislation and practical steps you can take to combat it is also available.

One wonderful aspect of the growing Christian renewal we are seeing in America is that God is moving powerfully to redeem people involved in LGBTQ behaviors. Angel Colon grew up in the church but abandoned his faith and became involved in same-sex relationships. His drinking led to drugs and eventually extreme drug use.

In June 2016, he was drunk and high during the tragic Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando when a man opened fire, killing 49 people and wounding another 50. When the horrific event was over, doctors found that Colon had been shot six times. Yet, it was in this dark moment of evil that God miraculously protected, redeemed and restored Colon’s life!

Now, he travels widely sharing the story of Jesus’ healing power and invites others who are trapped in the LGBTQ lifestyle to experience freedom in Christ.

But if the so-called Equality Act passes the Senate, Colon will be censored for sharing his own personal testimony and even the pastoral counseling he received will be threatened.

That bears repeating: The kind of lifesaving counsel Angel Colon received will be banned if the intentionally misnamed Equality Act becomes law.

Even if you have already participated in our fax campaign to STOP HR 5, help keep the pressure on our senators to ensure that the government never silences Colon’s voice and many others like his. The Equality Act must never become law and silence the truth.

Colon’s testimony will make you cry, as it did me when I interviewed him for our TV program, Freedom Alive!. After he had been shot five times, the shooter returned and killed a woman lying in a pool of blood beside him. Her body jumped from the floor from the impact of the bullet. Her eyes closed, and she released Colon’s hand, as he had been trying to comfort her. He described that terrible experience:

“I was petrified knowing I was next. I heard the shooter behind me, gauging his next move. That’s when I asked the Lord for forgiveness, to forgive me for failing Him, for turning my back on Him. I wanted to be at peace with God, but at that moment, my prayer changed to prophecy.”

Colon continued, “I prophetically claimed my life for the Lord. I told Him I would not leave that building dead, that I had a purpose, and He would fulfill all the promises He made over my life. I knew in that moment that I was chosen, and God had something big for me.

Colon said, “I promised Him I would worship Him for the rest of my days. The very moment I said, ‘amen,’ I felt the bullet. Heat swelled through my abdomen, and I was certain I was dead. But when I opened my eyes, I knew the Lord spared me.”

The sixth bullet to rip his flesh caused his body to bounce up from the floor. The shooter moved on and eventually a police officer asked if anyone in the club was alive. Colon raised his hand. With a broken femur and bleeding to death, he was dragged over broken glass that further ripped his body.

If Colon wouldn’t have received medical care within five minutes, he would have died. But instead, he is passionately living his life for the Lord and reaching out with a message of redemption and hope for those considering, or already in, an LGBTQ lifestyle!

He and a friend who was severely trampled in the Pulse tragedy, Luis Ruiz, have created a documentary about the changes in their lives called More Than a Victim: The Angel Colon and Luis Ruiz Story. They are fervent about spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Six bullets couldn’t stop Colon from speaking the truth in love to others trapped in this behavior. But now HR 5 threatens their incredible ministry. This bill would have them remain silent or lose everything.

Join us in standing up for people like Colon and Ruiz whom God has freed from their pasts. Make sure that these men will always have freedom to share what God has done in their lives. Tell the Senate tovote no on the Equality Act. {eoa}

For the original article, visit lc.org.

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