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Ted Cruz Wants to Use Religion to Discriminate in Our Nation's Capital
http://www.rollcall.com/news/ted_cruz_wants_to_use_religion_to_discriminate_in_our_nations_capital-241180-1.htmlOpponents of reproductive freedom and LGBT rights, taking this message to heart, have been pursuing an aggressive, ever more brazen strategy of using religion to discriminate. The national uproar over Indiana’s discriminatory “religious freedom” law is the latest and most prominent example, but it is by no means the only such effort. Those who seek to use religion to discriminate also have their sight set on two recently passed anti-discrimination bills in the District of Columbia that are currently under congressional review.
Having failed to prevent their passage by the D.C. Council, opponents have turned to presidential hopeful Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and James Lankford, R-Okla., neither one of whom represents the residents of the District — to attempt to block the bills from taking effect in a misguided attempt to score political points as defenders of religious liberty.
The two bills in question, the Human Rights Amendment Act and the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Act, both have a very simple, straightforward purpose: to ensure those who work and study in the District are treated fairly. And yet, opponents have intentionally mischaracterized them as “unprecedented assaults” on religious liberty. These claims are completely unfounded. In fact, these bills help to ensure employees and students in the District can follow their own religious and moral beliefs without interference.
In a statement announcing his introduction of resolutions to block the bills, Cruz said religious liberty should not end at the Potomac. We agree. Religious liberty is a fundamental American value. It guarantees us the freedom to hold any belief we choose and the right to act on our religious beliefs, but it does not allow us to discriminate against or otherwise harm others — and that’s precisely what these bills seek to prevent.
Having failed to prevent their passage by the D.C. Council, opponents have turned to presidential hopeful Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and James Lankford, R-Okla., neither one of whom represents the residents of the District — to attempt to block the bills from taking effect in a misguided attempt to score political points as defenders of religious liberty.
The two bills in question, the Human Rights Amendment Act and the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Act, both have a very simple, straightforward purpose: to ensure those who work and study in the District are treated fairly. And yet, opponents have intentionally mischaracterized them as “unprecedented assaults” on religious liberty. These claims are completely unfounded. In fact, these bills help to ensure employees and students in the District can follow their own religious and moral beliefs without interference.
In a statement announcing his introduction of resolutions to block the bills, Cruz said religious liberty should not end at the Potomac. We agree. Religious liberty is a fundamental American value. It guarantees us the freedom to hold any belief we choose and the right to act on our religious beliefs, but it does not allow us to discriminate against or otherwise harm others — and that’s precisely what these bills seek to prevent.
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