21 Problems with the National Outcry About Indiana’s ‘Religious Freedom’ Law on One Map
Indiana’s controversial new bill signed into law is called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). The bill guarantees individuals the right to conduct business without ‘substantially burdening their ability to exercise their religion.’
It has been roundly condemned around the nation. Seattle’s mayor went so far as to issue a travel ban to Indiana for city workers, while San Francisco’s mayor is considering a ban on city funds being sent to the Hoosier state.
Nevertheless, the ‘extremely controversial’ RFRA is based on a 1993 Federal Law, which is also dubbed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. It was signed into law by ‘right-wing extremist’ president Bill Clinton.
Above is a map of the states that have signed onto versions of the 1993 RFRA signed into law by former President Bill Clinton (as of 2014). The ACLU map shows 19 states that adopted such legislation; Utah and Indiana more recently passed laws.
There are currently 21 states with religious freedom laws: Alabama (state constitution amendment), Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia.
Even blue states like Connecticut and Rhode Island have versions of the law. That is because the law is not as sweeping in its implications as activists seem to be suggesting.
The RFRA does not give businesses a “license to discriminate” against LGBT persons, but rather works within a narrow legal parameter to give businesses defense against federal lawsuit. That is because the states can recognize individual rights in a more assertive fashion than the federal government, under the 9th and 10th amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
...In other words, not only can the Christian owners of a bakery refuse to write an inscription on the wedding cake of a gay couple, but the black owners of a T-shirt business don’t have to print the KKK’s burning crosses on shirts, and Jewish owners of a gift shop don’t have to put Nazi symbols on coffee cups.
Everyone has equal rights, or no one does.
Of course, today's liberal isn't about the rights of the individual or the rule of law. The modern progressive is about government dictating what you will do, your religious convictions be damned.
Or, as Erick Erickson so eloquently put it two years ago: "You will be made to care."
Hat tip: BadBlue News.
Federal law for decades. Crickets. Similar laws in 20 States with more to come. Nothing but silence. So why now, why Indiana?
ReplyDeleteSuspect this isn't about the law at all. Something else is afoot.
Just like George Stephanapolis kicked off the Democrats' 2012 claims that the Republicans were at War against Women, he is evidently kicking off another Republican War in time for the 2016 election. Time will only tell what this rumored war will be about--- religious bigotry or First Amendment religious rights that must be taken away?
ReplyDelete