This past September marked the end of The Large Retailers Accountability Act of 2013, known alternatively as both DC’s living-wage bill and the “Wal-Mart Bill.” The bill, passed by an 8-to-5 vote, was an attempt by the DC City Council to raise DC’s minimum wage from $8.25 to $12.50 for large retailers like Walmart and Target
The legislation named “large companies” as those with at least one billion dollars in revenue and stores at least 75,000 square feet in size.
In the wake of terrorist attacks around the world—from Ankara, Turkey, to Brussels, Belgium—Muslims are facing more discrimination than ever before, and Muslim students at American University are no exception.
Ajury of 13 Methodist clergymen in Lebanon, PA, suspended their pastor, the Reverend Frank Schaefer, of his duties for 30 days for conducting the wedding of his son to another man six years ago.
Schaefer, pastor at the Zion United Methodist Church of Iona, was charged with conducting a same-sex ceremony and violating the church’s discipline, according to the Lebanon Daily News. If he violates the terms of his suspension and officiates a same-sex marriage or violates any portion of the Methodists’ Book of Disciples in the thirty-day time frame, he faces a more serious consequence: loss of his title and status as pastor.
New York Magazine reports that despite the controversy his actions have created, Schaefer is unrepentant and doubtful that he will be able to adhere to the mandate set out in his sentence.
“If a gay couple asks me [to officiate their wedding] in the next thirty days and they qualify, yes, I would do it,” Schaefer said during his trial.
“We as a church and as individuals need to stop judging people,” he added.
