Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, commented on the religious liberty victory surrounding Prop. 1, an initiative on the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance that was rejected Tuesday after a nearly 18-month battle.

“Months ago, when Mayor Parker attempted to subpoena the sermons of Houston pastors, I argued then that the preaching of the church of God does not belong to the government and we will not hand it over. Not now. Not ever. Here, the people of Houston have spoken and said the same is true of the conscience. The defeat of this proposition ensures that the consciences of men and women will not be steamrolled, and that unsuspecting citizens will not be put into vulnerable situations.”