UTEopia
04-02-2015, 06:16 PM
The First Amendment reads, in part: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
States are passing laws or considering passing laws to somehow protect the free exercise of religion. The LDS Church held a press conference a couple of months back to encourage legislation in Utah to protect LGBT from discrimination in housing and employment but much of the press conference was devoted to identifying an "attack" being waged on religion and encouraging legislation that will protect individuals from consequences of certain conduct so long as they engage in the conduct in furtherance of the free exercise of religion. The NCAA, the NFL, the coaches in the Final Four have all adopted positions striking back at States that enact religious exemptions that would allow discrimination in providing goods and services in commerce.
I sit in my LDS High Priest Group in little old Holladay, Utah and hear some around me voice that we need to stand up to the attack on the free exercise of religion and wonder what world I have landed in and whether I am oblivious to what is going on around me because I don't feel any pressure or attack on my religious expression. Admittedly, I am a lawyer, more liberal than not, have relatives and friends from a diverse collection of races, cultures, religions and sexual persuasions.
A couple of questions to get the ball rolling:
Are States that pass legislation giving preference to religious expression over other rights making laws respecting the establishment of religion?
Has anyone ever heard of a corporation being a member of a Church?
Does my right to exercise my religious beliefs (good, bad, stupid, intolerant) end when I leave the Church and home and enter the world of commerce?
Are mainstream Republicans really interested in the type of legislation in question in Indiana and Georgia?
Will Indiana and Georgia cave in to the threat of economic consequences or will they stick to their principals/prejudices?
If I am an atheist flower shop owner in Indiana refuse to sell to an obviously gay couple simply because I find the behavior yucky or do I have to be a religious flower shop owner in Indiana to have that right?
States are passing laws or considering passing laws to somehow protect the free exercise of religion. The LDS Church held a press conference a couple of months back to encourage legislation in Utah to protect LGBT from discrimination in housing and employment but much of the press conference was devoted to identifying an "attack" being waged on religion and encouraging legislation that will protect individuals from consequences of certain conduct so long as they engage in the conduct in furtherance of the free exercise of religion. The NCAA, the NFL, the coaches in the Final Four have all adopted positions striking back at States that enact religious exemptions that would allow discrimination in providing goods and services in commerce.
I sit in my LDS High Priest Group in little old Holladay, Utah and hear some around me voice that we need to stand up to the attack on the free exercise of religion and wonder what world I have landed in and whether I am oblivious to what is going on around me because I don't feel any pressure or attack on my religious expression. Admittedly, I am a lawyer, more liberal than not, have relatives and friends from a diverse collection of races, cultures, religions and sexual persuasions.
A couple of questions to get the ball rolling:
Are States that pass legislation giving preference to religious expression over other rights making laws respecting the establishment of religion?
Has anyone ever heard of a corporation being a member of a Church?
Does my right to exercise my religious beliefs (good, bad, stupid, intolerant) end when I leave the Church and home and enter the world of commerce?
Are mainstream Republicans really interested in the type of legislation in question in Indiana and Georgia?
Will Indiana and Georgia cave in to the threat of economic consequences or will they stick to their principals/prejudices?
If I am an atheist flower shop owner in Indiana refuse to sell to an obviously gay couple simply because I find the behavior yucky or do I have to be a religious flower shop owner in Indiana to have that right?