What “religious liberty” bills have in common with voter ID laws
2/9/16 3:38pm
by Jon Green
Georgia legislators are considering a slate of bills aimed to bridge the contrived divide between religious freedom and LGBT equality.
There’s a pastor protection bill that would provide the same protections that pastors already enjoy under the First Amendment. There’s another that would force the government to provide a compelling interest when religious citizens feel that their ability to practice their beliefs is being infringed by the State, although that bill’s sponsors have specifically said that it would not protect a business who wanted to refuse service to a same-sex couple. That’s covered by a third bill, which would allow businesses to refuse service for “matrimonial ceremonies” that involve same-sex couples if they have religious objections to those ceremonies taking place.
Guess which one conservatives in Georgia are rallying behind? In the name of compromise, no less?
Writing in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, conservative columnist Kyle Wingfield argued today that there is room for both sides of this religious freedom/LGBT equality debate to get something that they want and accommodate each other:
What the LGBT side needs is freedom from discrimination. What the religious-liberty side needs is freedom of conscience for those who do not wish to be personally involved in same-sex marriages. The overlap of these interests is narrower than the rhetoric might indicate. It calls for a very narrow, specific and nuanced solution.
http://americablog.com/2016/02/what-religious-liberty-bills-have-in-common-with-voter-id-laws.html