Religious Freedom Legislation And The Problems Ahead

Arizona missed an opportunity to become the 1st state in the union to openly discriminate against everybody who isn't a Christian and didn't follow the Bible, thanks to Jan Brewer's veto of the bill. SB 1062 would have been the first shot in the dividing of the country by religious sects. And we will get there. I am almost positive that the "Moral and Virtuous" Christians out there will figure out a state legislature and governor to roll over and get this passed in their state. Believe me, Arizona might be the one in the news, but there are other states out there that are thinking the exact same way as the people who pushed SB 1062. Although there will be nothing within the next month that will get passed, later this year, the ball starts rolling again in the states.

The Arizona debacle has stopped other states in their tracks. In Kansas, the Senate decided not to consider the bill. Of course, the House there had passed the measure. And I am sure that the Governor there would have signed it into law. I am ashamed that South Dakota had this legislation even considered. It was tabled in the Senate Judiciary Committee. In Tennessee, the sponsor had withdrawn his support of the bill there. In Ohio, the bill put forth was withdrawn. In Georgia, they had one each for the Senate and the House. The Senate bill had been withdrawn. The House bill is proceeding but it won't get through the Senate even if it does pass the House. In Indiana, lawmakers abandoned a constitutional amendment that would have protected religious schools and charities from discrimination lawsuits. Utah tabled the resolution there.



So with all of there religious freedom bills being squashed around the country, why am I worried about the future and these bills? Because they saw the furor over the Arizona bill and quietly decided not to push them right now. Almost all the sponsors of the bills above have said in various outlets that they will fine tune their bills and present them in the future.

The reason that the laws will be able to pass constitutional muster? The oral arguments at the Supreme Court in the religious exemption to the Affordable Care Act. If the freedom of religion for corporations and owners of businesses supersedes the freedom of religion of their workers and the ability of the federal government to regulate the insurance business, then the freedom of religion becomes the King of all freedoms. And the ability to choose who you will do business within your business can be based upon religious beliefs. So if you say that you will not do business with anybody that breaks a law in the bible, you are within the secular law according to the U.S. Supreme Court. So you don't have to do business with gay people, adulterers, divorcees, any descendents that might have slighted God or Jesus. Hell, you wouldn't have to do business with people that don't know the Bible. Can't recite the 12 tribes? Sorry, you don't believe in the same God that I do. Take your business somewhere else. Stupid.

And those states that I have talked about above, those aren't the only states out there that are looking at Religious Freedoms legislation. Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Michigan, Idaho, Hawaii, Oregon, West Virginia, and North Carolina are all looking at bills that will be introduced there. Some of them are introducing legislation that will bring the religious freedoms into the schools. Here is my question, in Mississippi, the have passed the "Mississippi Student Religious Liberties Act". Basically you can show your religion in school and can pray, teach, and proselytize the Christian faith. If a different religion wants to be brought into the schools, will that religion have the same ability to be freely spoken and practiced?

This will also bring different Christian Sects into conflict with each other. Let's make an example of what the pope has said recently. That the story of Adam and Eve is a fable. I know that some people say that they are done with following this pope and some say that he is exactly what the Catholic faith needs. So if you can choose who to do business with based upon the answer to whether or not the story of Adam and Eve is a fable or not, it would seem to me that something is wrong. It is just another way of dividing the people of America for political reasons.

You have the right to personally believe in God and to practice that belief. But that right should end when you impede on the rights of others. And until we Americans stop re-interpreting the Constitution every time we think it suits us and what we believe, we will continue the culture wars that divide us. The only people that win at that is the political parties and candidates, fundraisers, and the big money donors to those political parties and candidates. The average American is the loser in this game. We will stay losers until we follow the following line in the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Let everybody in America find their life, let them have liberty, and above all else, let them pursue their happiness how they want to. What they do does not impact you and how you live your life. Let go of the hate and mistrust and maybe, just maybe, you will find your happiness by focusing on you and your family. Not by telling others how they should be.