Why Our Religious Freedom Needs More Protection

Religious Freedom, ,

Joseph La Rue and Kerri Kupec of Alliance Defending Freedom offered an excellent explanation last week on why our basic religious freedoms need better protection.

Even though the U.S. government has a federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act protecting religious liberties from encroachment by the federal government, the State of Arkansas has yet to pass a similar law protecting religious expression at the state level. Below is an explanation of what can happen when a state does not adequately protect the religious liberties of its citizens.

So, what happens in states that don’t have a clear [Religious Freedom Restoration Act]? Elane Photography in New Mexico is a perfect illustration.

Elaine Huguenin, the Christian owner of Elane Photography, declined to photograph what two women called their “commitment ceremony.” The women had no trouble finding another photographer because plenty of them were clamoring for their business. But the couple sued Elaine’s business anyway, alleging that it had violated a law banning sexual orientation discrimination.

Elaine, however, did not refuse the women because they identify as homosexual. She declined to photograph the ceremony only because she didn’t want to promote a message at odds with her sincerely held religious beliefs about marriage. So, Elaine asserted a defense under New Mexico’s RFRA, similar to Arizona’s current RFRA, saying that the government should not be able to force her to promote and participate in the ceremony when doing so violates her religious convictions.

Forcing someone to disregard their faith and act contrary to it violates their dignity as a person. But that’s what happened to Elaine because the ambiguity in New Mexico’s RFRA, like Arizona’s current one, allowed the New Mexico Supreme Court to hand down a strained interpretation that actually distinguished between Elaine as a photographer and Elaine as a small-business owner.

Click here to read the entire column.

READ MORE

Oregon AG Won’t Defend State Marriage Amendment

Marriage, ,

Oregon’s attorney general announced this week her office will not defend the state’s marriage amendment in court.

Like Arkansas, Oregon’s voters approved a state marriage amendment in 2004 defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. That amendment has come under attack by gay activists and is now the subject of a lawsuit. Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum wrote yesterday,

“State Defendants will not defend the Oregon ban on same-sex marriage in this litigation. Rather, they will take the position in their summary judgment briefing that the ban cannot withstand a federal constitutional challenge under any standard of review. In the meantime, as the State Defendants are legally obligated to enforce the Oregon Constitution’s ban on same-sex marriage, they will continue to do so unless and until this Court grants the relief sought by the plaintiffs.”

Rosenblum is the latest in a string of state officials around the country who have shirked their responsibility to defend marriage laws voters in their states have passed.

If you read the quote carefully, you see Rosenblum notes that her office will continue to enforce the ban on same-sex marriage, because they are obligated to do so as long as it is in the state’s constitution. The irony is defending state laws in court is a fundamental obligation of every attorney general in America. Rosenblum admits her office is required to enforce the law; she should also acknowledge her office is required to defend the law. She can’t cherry-pick which obligations she follows and which she ignores.

No attorney general has the power to declare a law unconstitutional. That power rests solely with the Judicial Branch. We have three separate, co-equal branches of government specifically to prevent this kind of lawlessness, where state officials unilaterally decide a democratically-enacted law is worthless.

A Democratic attorney general doesn’t get to decide a state ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional any more than a Republican attorney general gets to decide a new tax or minimum-wage increase is unconstitutional. Their job is to defend the law in court. Some liberals are hailing Rosenblum’s decision right now; they should consider how they will feel sometime down the road, when a conservative attorney general follows this precedent by ignoring a law liberals support.

READ MORE

Please Join Us for the Pastor’s Prayer Assembly Next Week

Legislature, ,

Several years ago a state lawmaker told me that his rides home from Little Rock on the weekends were always a little depressing; he would pass his neighbors’ houses on his way into town, and he would reflect on how the votes he cast and the things he stood for that week hadn’t always reflected how the folks back home would have wanted him to act. How sad a situation. Encouragement, especially for a politician, can be difficult to give at times. However, the Apostle Paul tells Timothy to pray “for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” (1 Tim 2:2).

That is why we are cordially inviting ministers across the state of Arkansas to join us in worship at the Capitol Building Thursday, February 27, from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and also on Wednesday, March 5, from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. for the Pastors Prayer Breakfast Assembly. We will start both days with breakfast in the Capitol Cafeteria (“Big Room”) located in the lower level of the Capitol Building, and then we will make our way upstairs for a short tour and assemble to pray for all of our 135 legislators and 7 constitutional officers. Optional activities are available afterwards.

(more…)

READ MORE