WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) The nation’s financial markets regulator has approved a plan by Nasdaq to implement that all companies trading on its exchange meet diversity quotas.
The Nasdaq Stock Market first submitted its proposed rule change to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in December. It will affect roughly 3,000 companies.
Now approved, the proposal will require listed companies “to have at least one director who self identifies as a female” and “at least one director who self–identifies as Black or African American, Hispanic or Latinx, Asian, Native American or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, two or more races or ethnicities, or as LGBTQ+.”
Companies must turn over data on the racial, gender, and sexual identifications of board members. The new rule requires the companies to “provide statistical information in a proposed uniform format on the company’s board of directors related to a director’s self-identified gender, race, and self-identification as LGBTQ+.”
However, the policy, which is aimed at being “inclusive,” still leaves out other people who consider themselves marginalized.
The Christian baker, Jack Phillips, needs your support as he is again being targeted by LGBT activists, despite the fact that his stand against compelled speech and being forced to bake a "wedding" cake for homosexuals was vindicated by the Supreme Court in 2018.
Now, a gender-confused man, "Autumn" Scardina, has succeeded in getting Mr. Phillips fined $500 by Denver District Court judge, A. Bruce Jones, for refusing to make a cake celebrating the man's attempted "transition."
The LGBT mob just won’t leave this Christian baker make his living in peace!
But, Phillips and his legal counsel say they will appeal this ruling.
Please SIGN and SHARE this petition which sends moral support and prayers to Mr. Phillips after this latest assault on his right to free speech and not to be forced, in his work, to promote an ideology with which he disagrees.
The fact that the court pursued the complaint by this gender-confused man, after Phillips' right to reject such compelled speech was confirmed by the Supreme Court, is nothing short of targeting by LGBT activists and harassment by the District Court.
In 2018, the Supreme Court overruled an earlier District Court ruling and determined that forcing Phillips to create a homosexual "wedding" cake was a violation of the First Amendment.
But, just before the Supreme Court's ruling, Scardina (the LGBT-activist-plaintiff in this latest miscarriage of justice) demanded that Phillips create a cake celebrating his “transition.” Upon being refused, Scardina sued Phillips.
"The request was for a custom-designed cake, pink on the inside and blue on the outside, to reflect and celebrate a gender transition," Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a legal organization protecting religious freedom and Phillips' legal counsel, said in a statement on Wednesday.
"Phillips’ shop declined the request because the customer specifically requested that the cake express messages and celebrate an event in conflict with Phillips’ religious beliefs," ADF continued.
"Jack Phillips serves all people but shouldn’t be forced to create custom cakes with messages that violate his conscience," ADF stated. "The harassment of people like Jack … has been occurring for nearly a decade and must stop."
Please SIGN and SHARE this petition which supports Jack Phillips against the latest LGBT efforts to persecute him because of this sincerely held religious beliefs.
Thank you!
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
'Court forces Christian baker to make cakes celebrating a transgender ‘transition’' - www.lifesitenews.com/news/court-forces-christian-baker-to-make-cakes-celebrating-a-transgender-transition
'Jack Phillips back in court over refusal to bake transgender cake' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/jack-phillips-back-in-court-over-refusal-to-bake-transgender-cake
ADF Statement - https://adfmedia.org/case/scardina-v-masterpiece-cakeshop
**Photo Credit: YouTube screen grab
The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) asked Nasdaq to include people with disabilities in the rule. Boards may report that data, but it is not a requirement under the approved policy. The AAPD wrote that “ it is important to remember that disability inclusion matters to investors.” The group urged Nasdaq to consider how including people with disabilities would help them reach more customers and shape better policies.
A board with individuals with disabilities would be “better positioned to execute responsible governance, effective risk management, and optimal decision-making, as well as enhanced customer alignment, employee engagement, and transparency, as compared to those without,” the group said in its comments on the proposal.
“We are pleased that the SEC has approved Nasdaq’s proposal to enhance board diversity disclosures and encourage the creation of more diverse boards through a market-led solution,” Nasdaq said in a statement. “We look forward to working with our companies to implement this new listing rule and set a new standard for corporate governance.”
Republican Senator Pat Toomey, a member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, criticized the announcement.
“Corporate board rooms, like all organizations, can benefit from a diversity of perspectives, but NASDAQ’s one-size-fits-all quota misses the mark,” Toomey told CNBC. “By defining diversity by race, gender, and sexual orientation, NASDAQ’s mandate will inevitably pressure companies to subordinate crucial factors such as knowledge, experience, and expertise when selecting board members.”
He said the SEC has become a “laboratory for progressive social engineering.”