Republicans Introduce Religious "License to Discriminate" Bill

[Guest LizMarie]

From the article:

"Conservatives across America are claiming religious persecution -- especially of Christians -- by the LGBT community and its allies, despite the fact that Christians make up about 80 percent of America and the LGBT community only about four percent. A string of nearly 30 federal court decisions in support of same-sex marriage in little over a year has shaken their previously presumed right to discriminate and they are scrambling to reassert that privilege.

Take U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, Republican of Wyoming, and U.S. Congressman Mike Kelly, Republican of Pennsylvania. The pair have teamed up to introduce the "Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act of 2014" (PDF) to 'ensure that organizations with religious or moral convictions are allowed to continue to provide services for children.'"

What Senator Enzi and Congressman Kelly don't say is that their proposed law is aimed straight at LGBT people, and gives anyone claiming a "religious belief" the "right" to treat anyone who identifies as LGBT in discriminatory and harmful ways. The law is "limited" to just organizations that provide child welfare services but those services would be free to deny same sex couples any support whatsoever, while still allowing those organizations to collect federal funds. In my personal opinion, if they want to discriminate, then they can do it without federal monies.

http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/conservative_lawmakers_introduce_federal_religious_license_to_discriminate_bill

[Guest]

Our country isn't known for having a long memory.

About 500 years ago, people were coming to America to escape religious oppression. A couple of hundred years later, they wrote a constitution that allowed religious freedom.

But, apparently, the concept didn't include freedom from religion? The religious right seems to want to become the same religious oppressors that their forefathers escaped from years ago.

I know it can't go anywhere towards becoming law, but I resent the fact that they insist on wasting time over things like this.

Love, Megan

[Guest otter-girl]

Highly disturbing to see bigotry and inhumanity being leveraged under the guise of religion and freedom. These people may attach themselves to a religion but they are clearly bereft of spirituality or humanity and only interested in their own freedom of imposition without wider responsibility.

Hugs

Rachel

[Charlize]

Suddenly i'm pushing back tears. E does that to me but after thinking about this i'm just not sure if it is fear for all of us or moral indignation. Perhaps we should all join a religious organization that accepts both gods and goddesses and believes that discrimination of any kind is wrong. Perhaps we would then be free from persecution for trying to live as ourselves. Shame on the religious right.

Hugs,

Charlize

[Guest sweetcharlene41]

it seem like, instead of moving forward, we seem to be moving backwards, the revolutionary war fought, so we could be free of england, and practice our religion the way we want. the constitution and the bill of rights, were written, so that everybody is equal, there should be no discrimination against anybody, and yet here we are. in the 21st century, and still being discriminated against. when are people going to wake up and smell the coffee, if we let these guy's get away with this, who knows whats nexted. we as transgender, cross dresser's and such, should be treated as human beings, why take your failings out on us. thanks for listening, lots of love sweet charlene.

[Guest Sarah Faith]

Suddenly i'm pushing back tears. E does that to me but after thinking about this i'm just not sure if it is fear for all of us or moral indignation. Perhaps we should all join a religious organization that accepts both gods and goddesses and believes that discrimination of any kind is wrong. Perhaps we would then be free from persecution for trying to live as ourselves. Shame on the religious right.

Hugs,

Charlize

Something that I think people tend to forget when they are so focused on one example of discrimination, hatred, whatever.. Is that you can flee from organized religion or even eliminate organized religion entirely, and people will still find a reason to hate other people for being different. I'm not even a huge fan of organized religion as my family has been burned by it many times (not for trans or LGBT reasons either) but I know that it isn't the core of all problems in the world either. Plenty of people have been the victims of hate in the world that was un-related to religion. How many people did Joseph Stalin slaughter in the name of power and political ideology?

That is what we all really need to be concerned about is ideology, people who hate are not hating because a book tells them to hate. People who hate, hate because their social environment dictates that they be so, and their social ideology drives their interpretation of religion. People have twisted Religion since the dawn of human civilization to fit the ideology of the time. People don't discriminate because the bible tells them to, people discriminate because the targeted people are different and they just use religion as a method to excuse behavior.

Contrary to some popular opinion of human nature, humans are not a kind, gentle, and peace loving species. Historically speaking we never have been, and it isn't within our biological imperative to be so either. Apes in general, not just humans, are some of the most vicious territorial creatures on the planet. People get insanely territorial over ideology, and it is ideology we need to combat not religious institutions. In fact Religious institutions are working more now than ever to combat hatred towards LGBT, such as the current Pope.

it seem like, instead of moving forward, we seem to be moving backwards, the revolutionary war fought, so we could be free of england, and practice our religion the way we want. the constitution and the bill of rights, were written, so that everybody is equal, there should be no discrimination against anybody, and yet here we are. in the 21st century, and still being discriminated against. when are people going to wake up and smell the coffee, if we let these guy's get away with this, who knows whats nexted. we as transgender, cross dresser's and such, should be treated as human beings, why take your failings out on us. thanks for listening, lots of love sweet charlene.

Not to nitpick, but the revolutionary war was fought over taxation with out representation (money), not religious freedom. The whole point of the Boston Tea party was due to, what the land owners of the time felt was, unfair taxes by the crown, so they tossed the tea into Boston harbor to send a message that they weren't going to take it.