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Townhall
Religious
Freedom Is Still Worth Protecting
Steve Chapman
Apr 12, 2015
Gay rights groups and their allies were outraged when Indiana enacted a
"religious freedom" measure that let businesses refuse to take part in
same-sex weddings and other events they find objectionable. Opponents
of the new law had an unassailable goal: protecting a small group of
people from having their freedom trampled by an unsympathetic majority.
Funny thing: That's exactly what religious freedom laws were designed
to do.
These laws have gotten a bad name from Indiana -- where the legislature
didn't place a high priority on such liberty until gay marriage
arrived. But they have an honorable pedigree and considerable value.
Their point is not to promote mistreatment, but to prevent it.
Consider some of the individuals and groups that have needed relief
from oppressive demands: a Muslim prison inmate who felt obligated to
grow a beard; an Apache leader whose eagle feathers, needed for sacred
ceremonies, were confiscated; Jewish soldiers whose yarmulkes violated
military dress codes.
In each case, general rules were adjusted or waived because they
inflicted a special injury on particular religious groups -- and
because the religious needs could be accommodated without noticeable
harm.
But in 1990, the Supreme Court turned a deaf ear to such concerns...
Read the rest of the article at Townhall
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