Trump Administration Moves to Protect Federal Employees’ Religious Liberties

Religious Freedom,

Last week the United States Office of Personnel Management released a memo safeguarding religious freedom and religious expression in the workplace.

The free exercise of religion is a fundamental right protected by the U.S. Constitution. However, over the past 15 years the freedom of religion has come under fire — especially within the U.S. military and the federal government.

In 2013, Family Research Council compiled examples of attacks against religious liberty in the military. In 2014, news broke about the federal government making Veterans Affairs hospital chapels “religiously neutral.” And in 2015 a Navy chaplain was relieved of his duties for holding biblical views on homosexuality.

The new memo from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management helps address these types of situations.

The memo reaffirms the federal government’s commitment to religious liberty in federal workplaces.

It clarifies that government employees can display and use religious items at work — including Bibles or artwork — and it says federal workers are free to talk about and share their faith at work.

The memo also provides examples of protected religious expression, such as:

  • A group of employees may form a prayer group and gather for prayer or study of scripture or holy books at the office while not on duty hours.
  • An employee who requests his supervisor prohibit his coworkers from gathering in an empty conference room for prayer should politely be told his coworkers’ conduct will be allowed to continue as it is permissible.
  • A doctor at a Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital may pray over his patient for her recovery.

We have often said that if you don’t believe religious liberty is under attack, just try exercising it sometime.

Fortunately, lawmakers in Arkansas have enacted some of the best protections for religious freedom in the nation, and courts have issued rulings that uphold the free exercise of religion.

It’s good to see federal policymakers stand up for religious liberty as well.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Pro-Abortion Shield Laws May Violate U.S. Constitution, Undermine State Laws: A.G. Letter

Abortion, , ,

On Tuesday, Attorney General Tim Griffin issued four cease-and-desist letters to companies responsible for marketing abortion pills to Arkansans and sent a letter to Washington urging congressional leaders to consider measures to help states enforce their pro-life laws.

Arkansas generally prohibits abortion except to save the life of the mother, and state law prohibits abortion drugs from being delivered or distributed in the state. However, pro-abortion states are enacting “shield laws” to protect abortionists who ship abortion drugs across the country. Attorney General Griffin says entities in these states are deliberately targeting women in Arkansas and elsewhere.

Family Council previously reported how Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said his office is leading a letter along with 15 other state attorneys general asking congress to address these pro-abortion “shield laws.” Below is a little more information about the letter itself — and what congress might do to address these pro-abortion laws.

The A.G.’s letter to leaders in the U.S. House and Senate outlines some of the legal problems with these pro-abortion “shield laws.”

For example, the letter argues that “shield laws” violate the U.S. Constitution’s Full Faith and Credit Clause, because they fail to give full faith and credit to state laws prohibiting mail-order abortion drugs. The letter says,

When New York or California refuses to respect a criminal prosecution or a civil judgment against an individual who is accused of violating the abortion laws of another State, they are refusing to give full faith and credit to that State’s judicial proceedings.

The letter also argues that “shield laws” could violate the Extradition Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

The letter urges congress to “assess whether it should tackle this issue head on with legislation that preempts state shield laws.”

Abortion drugs don’t just kill unborn children. They also hurt women. 

A recent study by the experts at the Ethics and Public Policy Center shows abortion drugs are at least 22 times more dangerous than previously thought.

The study found that from 2017 to 2023, nearly one in nine women suffered serious health complications like sepsis, infection, and hemorrhaging as a direct result of the abortion drugs.

We appreciate Attorney General Griffin’s leadership on this issue and his willingness to stand up for Arkansas’ pro-life values. Abortion drugs simply should not be for sale in America — and abortionists certainly should not be free to break Arkansas law by mailing them into the state.

You Can Read the A.G.’s letter to Congress Here.

You Can Click Here to Read The A.G.’s Cease-and-Desist Letters to Possibility Labs of San Francisco; Mayday Medicines Inc. of New York; Dreamscape International of Singapore; and Cloudflare of San Francisco.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Is Marriage Really Just a Piece of Paper?

Video

“Marriage is just a piece of paper. What difference does it really make if you stand up in front of a church or a justice of the peace if we really love each other?”

What would you say?

In recent decades, the marriage rate has plummeted, but at the same time, the rate of cohabitation—couples living together long-term without getting married—has spiked, and more Americans have cohabited at some point than have been married.

On the other hand, cohabitation is fundamentally different from marriage, and studies show it sets couples up for relationship failure.

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