Saturday, March 21, 2015

Religious Freedom and D.C. Laws

Religious freedom is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. These days many people do not respect this freedom. A case in point are two new D.C. laws: the Human Rights Amendment of 2014 and the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Act of 2014.

The first law compels religious schools to acknowledge and allow the use of their facilities for clubs, societies, and individuals whose purpose and philosophy conflicts with the schools stated mission.

Obviously, a religious school doesn't want to promote anything immoral. They will be forced to if the bill becomes law on 04/17/15.

The second law  requires organizations and businesses to act inconsistent with their mission. It would require a pro-life employer to provide insurance coverage for contraception and abortion. It would force them to go against their principles. It seems that the writers of this bill are mixed up concerning discrimination.

These laws discriminate against religious schools, businesses, and organizations. This is a growing harassment in the U.S.A. It needs to stop now.

The first amendment outlaws religious discrimination by the government. It prohibits the government from regulating religious beliefs. It prohibits infringement by the civil authority. Although sometimes these rights aren't upheld because of "interpretation" governmental infringement is still wrong.

In the instances considered in this article, upholding the religious schools rights and the employers doesn't stop individuals or groups from doing what they want. It prohibits them from doing this on the property of a religious school and from working for an organization and going against its mission.


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