The Return of RFRA
Just when Indiana lawmakers thought they were past the controversy regarding the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) a religious group plans to call on them to revisit the issue.
The Indiana Pastors Association says it will deliver a letter to the Governor and lawmakers on Monday telling them the RFRA “fix” is an “attack on the First Amendment and religious liberty.”
RFRA supporters say the law was necessary to protect religious freedom while opponents said it would allow for discrimination against the LGBT community.
Lawmakers changed the law to say it could not be used a defense in cases involving discrimination, including sexual orientation and gender identity.
In an e-mail to supporters, the Association said they wanted to deliver “a clear message to our elected representatives that those that voted for the FIX and those that had anything to do with its passage opened the door for the trampling of our liberties, betrayed us, exhibited a cowardly capitulation, and have opened the door for oppression. ”
Both the Speaker and Senate President Pro Tempore say repeal is not going to happen. David Long went so far to say this week that the group’s comments that the fix hurts religious liberty were “probably one of the most ignorant statements I’ve heard in a long time.”
And to make life even more interesting is that these guys are so far off the reservation that the Indiana Family Institute has told them to take a hike. IFI has removed the Pastors Alliance as one of their subsidiary organizations, because guess what, even IFI thinks doing a press conference and bringing this back up is the worst idea since Eve decided to take a bite out of the apple.
The news conference is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Monday. Hilarity will ensue at 1:03 p.m.
