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ByBishop Jim Lowe

Judges over you are vitally important!

On November 8, 2016 the people of Jefferson County will not only be voting for a President but, of equal importance, voting for persons who will be sitting as judges ruling over their relationships with other people in the community. This is an important position that may affect you more directly than the office of President.

One of the greatest prophets in Israel’s time was Samuel. However, he made the mistake of making appointments of judges according to his heart and not the will of God. This caused the nation of Israel great concern. The Bible says

(NKJV) 1 Sa 8:3 But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.

This is also a problem today if we do not elect honest people: Men and women who have a respect for Almighty God. This is a most difficult thing to do when you do not know the people you are voting for.  All of the candidates are qualified but not all of them respect the God of the Bible. Remember, the letter of the Law can kill. It is the Spirit that matter!

The Gatekeepers Association  is making this forum available to you so that you may come out and see for yourself who these people are who want to make judgments regarding your life. Some are better than the others. You must determine for yourself who you think is best. The Bible further says:

(NKJV) Dt 16:18 “You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the Lord your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment. 19 You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. 20 You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

The Gatekeepers Association will publish for you the assessment of the consensus of the pastors and leaders in its organization. We will present our opinions of the candidates on a scale of 1 to 5 with five being high and one being low.   We will rate each candidate based upon our combined discernment of each candidate to not only make judgments according to the law but also with a reverence to Almighty God. We will rate them according to each pastors discernment of their respect to the wisdom, virtue and commandments of God. We hope that this will help you give prayerful consideration as to whom you should vote for.

Don’t make the mistake of ignoring this important responsibility. Judges have the power to help make or destroy your life. Be careful in your decisions!

ByGatekeepers Association

Alabama Leaders Object to Obama’s Transgender Bathroom Edict

By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter

Friday, May 13, US Representatives Martha Roby (R-Montgomery), Bradley Byrne (R-Montrose), Gary Palmer (R-Hoover) and Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange (R), all issued statements blasting the Obama Administration for its threat that public schools who do not comply with the President’s pro-transgender agenda will lose federal funding.

Congresswoman Martha Roby said, “They have lost their minds. This is a great example of an issue in which we need a lot less government and a lot more common sense. These are children. Eighth grade boys don’t need government-guaranteed access to the sixth grade girls’ bathroom, or vice versa.”

Congressman Gary Palmer said, “This is yet another example of overreach by the Obama Administration. The guidance purports to create an environment that is “supportive” and “safe”. It will do neither. In fact, it will create an environment with much more potential for sexual misconduct and harm. No reasonable person could conclude that forcing school children, particularly adolescents, to share bathrooms and showers with individuals of the opposite sex, no matter how they might self-identify, is a smart idea. The safety implications for sexual predation have been well documented, but this Administration apparently has no concern about the sexual predators.”

Congressman Byrne said, “So this is the point we have reached…the federal government is now trying to set requirements on how schools handle their bathrooms. This is just another example of the federal government being involved in an area where it shouldn’t be involved at all. The federal government needs to leave our schools alone.”

Rep. Palmer said, “This guidance does not have the force of law and schools all over America should reject it. Alabama schools should reject it. The Obama Administration is engaging in an ideological war against our nation that not only is ripping our moral foundations apart, but now threatens our children’s safety and privacy. This action should cause all people of strong faith and moral convictions to come together across racial, religious and political lines to stop it. Members of Congress regardless of political affiliation who have the moral courage and conviction to do so, should stand to together and use every viable tool, including the power of the purse to stop the Administration from bullying states and local schools into adopting practices that the vast majority of Americans reject. This action should be seen for what it is, an act intended to force Americans to conform to the will of an increasingly extremist and provocative Administration.”

Attorney General Strange said, “Here comes the Obama administration with just another of their absurd regulatory overreaches, friends. School bathroom use is an issue that should be decided by parents, teachers, and principals – not Washington, DC bureaucrats.”

Rep. Byrne said, “I’ve been watching some of the reports on the Obama Administration’s new ‘bathroom guidance,’ and I am pretty frustrated. Schools in Alabama or anywhere around the United States don’t need the federal government to dictate ‘bathroom policy’ to them. Let’s get real here for a minute – this entire debate is executive overreach at its worst. Washington doesn’t always know best, and it has no business getting involved in a debate about where people go to the bathroom.”

Rep. Roby said, “Schools can figure out how to accommodate students’ unique needs on an individual basis without federal bureaucrats’ tortuous redefinition of sex. Moreover, threatening to sue schools or withhold funding if they don’t conform to this backward application of law is an abuse of power that won’t stand. I look forward to hearings that will expose how ridiculous and unworkable such a policy is.”

AG Strange told the Alabama Media Group’s Crystal Bonvillian that if President Obama wants to try to enforce this edict that Strange will join with other attorney generals in fighting this.

One school superintendent told the Alabama Political Reporter that a possible solution to this would be to rip out all the existing restrooms and replace them all with individual restrooms like a line of portable toilets at a outdoor event; but the cost of retrofitting all of Alabama’s schools would be substantial…though perhaps less substantial than the cost of litigation.

ByGatekeepers Association

Candidates seeking endorsement paid thousands to young Democrats

From AL.com, 1/21/16 by John Archibald

Thursday night the executive board of the Alabama Young Democrats voted to suspend the Jefferson County Young Democrats chapter on assorted charges related to endorsing candidates in the primary. A big complaint was “the appearance of impropriety.”

Because it really does appear propriety took a bag of money and lit out for the hills.

Candidates who paid thousands of dollars to officers of the Jefferson County Young Democrats received the group’s endorsement, prompting cries of pay to play. But we’ll get to that, because it is complicated.

It started last week – I wrote about parts of it a couple of days ago – when Jefferson County Young Democrats President Le’Darius Hilliard announced endorsements. Hours later the state organization declared the endorsements invalid because the Young Democrats’ constitution bans endorsements for the primaries.

But it got nasty.

ayd.PNGThe Alabama Young Democrats say the Jefferson County Democrats are flying too close to the fire.

Hilliard said the state group’s intervention amounted to “sabotage.” He said the county group wasn’t actually making endorsements – even though the headline on his press release read:  “Jefferson County Young Democrats Release 2016 Primary Endorsements.” Instead, he said, his group in December set up a PAC – called the Jefferson County Young Democrats PAC – that issued the endorsements.

Still, the executive board of the state group on Thursday voted to suspend the Jefferson County chapter until the group changes the name of its PAC and meets other demands.

Hilliard said the rift is indicative of the way Democrats in Alabama can’t seem to get along.

“Nobody wants to come together,” he said. “It makes no sense for the chapter to have to fight the state organization.”

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ByGatekeepers Association

INFLUENTIAL GROUP OF CLERGY OPPOSE CHANGES TO MAYOR-COUNCIL ACT

(From the Birmingham Times)

A group of diverse pastors on Wed., April 6 voiced strong opposition to legislation that would give Mayor William Bell additional appointments to the Birmingham Water Works Board (BWWB).

The Gatekeepers Association of Alabama (GAA), which includes nearly 40 influential pastors from across Jefferson County, said state lawmakers and city officials need to discuss changes before action is taken. The statement came after legislators on Tues., April 5 passed out of committee a bill that would change how BWWB members are appointed.

Currently, the Birmingham City Council appoints all five members to the board, which is expected to grow to six members next year. Under the new legislation, the council will appoint four members and the mayor will appoint two.

Also, mayor would have to approve the council’s selections and the council would have to approve of the mayor’s appointments.

Those and other proposed changes to the Mayor-Council Act, which lays the ground rules for Birmingham’s municipal government, have created a firestorm among residents who have packed hearings to voice concerns about the modifications.

“Today, it is about the city of Birmingham. Tomorrow, it will be about other issues that affect additional residents of the state,” said Bishop Jim Lowe, pastor of Guiding Light Church and member of the GAA executive board. “We must begin to take a stand so that the voices of the people may be heard.”

The GAA met with members of the Birmingham City Council and Jefferson County Democratic House delegation to discuss the proposed measures, Lowe said.

“These two elected entities have not had sufficient civil dialogue together discussing these two critical pieces of legislation that will have an impact on hundreds of thousands of current citizens … as well as the potential control of billions of taxpayer dollars,” the GAA said in a press release.

“Therefore, these two pieces of legislation should not hastily be voted upon without a thoughtful, transparent, intellectual, thorough process involving all parties from both elected entities working together for the good of all citizens affected.”

State lawmakers held a 90-minute public hearing on Monday, April 4, to discuss the legislation. Support and opposition were evenly divided during the meeting.

Lowe said he was disappointed that state Rep. Oliver Robinson (D-Birmingham), who chaired the meeting, told the overflow crowd that it didn’t matter what the people said, the bill would be passed anyway.

“This is the very thing we have been meeting about—when government leaders no longer consider themselves servants of the people but, rather, lords over the people,” Lowe said.

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ByGatekeepers Association

New details emerge about proposed Mayor-Council Act changes

State lawmakers have offered new details regarding controversial amendments to the Birmingham Mayor-Council Act.

Council members claim it is a power grab by Birmingham Mayor William Bell and his allies in the legislature.

Just a few weeks ago, a full house gathered for the city council hearing on the amendments, with most of the criticism aimed at the mayor and state lawmakers.

A day after that event, the mayor called the information presented at the hearing misleading and lawmakers called it incomplete.

Monday night at a forum, bill sponsor Oliver Robinson is sharing details on five amendments designed to streamline the Mayor-Council Act and clarify any questions about the role of the mayor and the role of the council.

Councilor Steven Hoyt says lawmakers have shown little interest in discussing the bill with both the mayor and council present.

The bill is expected to be filed at the statehouse as early as Tuesday morning.

There were several outbursts during the meeting on Monday night by people who are against the proposed changes. Some citizens say they don’t think some lawmakers are being truthful about why they’re proposing changes to the Mayor-Council Act.

“This is the biggest power grab and we as citizens of Birmingham object the plan,” said one Birmingham resident against the changes.

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