Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ….”
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
Justices Thomas and Alito recently demonstrated ideology holds sway over their alleged “strict constructionist” view of the U.S. Constitution when they lambasted the religious liberty implications of the Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision which cleared the way for legal same sex marriages nationwide.
The First Amendment specifically prohibits the government from establishing a state-sponsored religion or inhibiting an individual’s free exercise of their faith.
No one forces any person into a same sex marriage. Accordingly, there is no justification for any governmental interference with gay or lesbian couples form marrying. Similarly, one’s unfettered access to contraceptives, basic health services, adoption services or a woman’s choice should not be restricted by the codes of another’s beliefs.
Unfortunately, the principals of religious liberty on which our republic was founded are now under assault. Using the Religious Freedom Act as cover, the Court has justified its decisions in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission and Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania, creating inappropriate and unwarranted legal barriers to the safeguarding of our nation’s historic separation between Church and State; and ultimately the protection of everyone’s religious freedom.
Our nation must ensure religious liberty is inclusive and extended to the growing and changing diversity of the American public, including the non-religious. It must not impose the beliefs of any individual or organization, no matter how deeply held, to limit the personal freedoms of others or to authorize exemptions from civil laws which could cause harm to third-parties.
