Your first glimpse at the polarizing ‘religious liberty’ proposal
December 23, 2014
Greg Bluestein
State Rep. Sam Teasley didn’t want any additional focus on his already controversial push to pass “religious liberty” legislation. He already earned plenty of that this past session, when it sparked a sudden fight with business forces and other critics who eventually succeeded in scuttling it.
But he’s got it anyways. In the last few weeks, corporate leaders have blasted the proposal, Democrats have vowed to stop it and it’s ignited a behind-the-scenes email chain among lawmakers who could soon consider its fate.
That’s why Teasley decided to quicken his pace. He now expects to file the legislation by the year’s end – he figures there’s no reason to wait anymore – and he provided us an early version that includes these choice passages:
50-15A-2.
(a) Government shall not substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, except as provided in subsection (b) of this Code section.
(b) Government may substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion only if government demonstrates that the application of such burden to a person is in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest and the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest.
(c) A person whose religious exercise has been burdened in violation of this chapter may assert that claim or defense in a judicial proceeding and obtain appropriate relief against government.
50-15A-3.
(a) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to:
Create any rights by an employee against an employer if such employer is not government.
Take special note of that last line. While supporters see it as a new line of defense to protect people of any religion from government intrusion, critics fear it’s a discriminatory end-run on the First Amendment that would allow business owners to cite religious beliefs to deny people service.
http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2014/12/23/your-early-glimpse-at-the-polarizing-religious-liberty-proposal/
