The Christian owner of a meatpacking business had some pamphlets lying around in the breakroom that opposedย gay marriage.
When some inspectors from the United States Department of Agriculture saw them, they demanded that they be removed. ย Otherwise, they said, they would not inspect the plant, which would then not be allowed to operate.
The inspectors cited a regulation that allowed any government official โto take immediate and appropriate corrective actionโ if theyย detect any cases of ย โharassment.โ
The inspectors considered the pamphlets to be harassment, even though no employees complained. ย The USDA inspectors threatened to shut down the operation, even though the pamphlets had nothing to do with their purpose; namely, to insure the purity of the meat being sold.
Theย owner did as he was told and got rid of the pamphlets. ย But the issue still hangs over his head.
From Tony Perkins,ย Trump: Please Stop Govโt Meat Inspectorsโ Threats to Religious Freedom, Christian Post:
Donald Vander Boon has been operating a meatpacking center in Michigan for almost 15 years โย but thanks to the federal government, itโs his freedom thatโs getting butchered.
The Christian family, who proudly says on their website that the company โseeks to glorify and honor God in all we do,โ were shocked to find out during a visit by the USDA that it wasnโt their beef that was being inspected โย but their beliefs.
While officials were touring the plant, they noticed a handful of brochures on the breakroom table about natural marriage. As Don tells it, the article was mixed in with the stacks of newspapers celebrating the recent Supreme Court decision redefining marriage. Even so, the on-site officers took offense to the literature, walked into Donโs office, closed both doors, and told him theyโd call off the inspection if the material wasnโt removed.
He was stunned. โFrom the very beginning, we started the business in faith, and made it clear to employees that we run our business according to Christian principles.โ
But, he said, the company was in an impossible situation.
โWithin a few hours, Iโm being threatened with the closure of my business. [And] if the USDA removes its inspectors, then Iโm immediately unable to operate.โ
According to inspectors, Donโs article was โoffensiveโ and had violated a new rule from the Obama administration that gave government officials (including these inspectors) the right to take โimmediate and appropriate corrective actionโ when dealing with anything they considered โharassment.โ Vander Boonโs position on marriage, he was told, qualified.
That weighed heavily on the dad of threeโs mind, especially since the West Michigan Beef Company employed 45 people whose families also relied on them. To keep his doors open, Don made the difficult decision to pull the information on natural marriage.
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Photo of 3-cent stamp commemorating Religious Liberty, 1957. ย The original uploader was Bolesjohnb at English Wikipedia โ Transferred fromย en.wikipediaย to Commons., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2929449