Why Isnt Trumps Muslim Ban Front and Center at Religious Liberty Hearing?

[rug]

By Ian Thompson, Legislative Representative
FEBRUARY 15, 2017 | 2:30 PM

Republican members of the Constitution Subcommittee in the House of Representatives will hold a hearing on Thursday afternoon on “The State of Religious Liberty in America.” This could and should be an opportunity to conduct much-needed oversight over the most urgent threat to religious liberty in our nation today: President Trump’s un-American and unconstitutional executive order that intentionally discriminates against Muslims. Sadly, it appears as though the Republican majority on the subcommittee would rather argue for sweeping religious exemptions that enact taxpayer-funded discrimination against women and the LGBT.

Freedom of religion and belief is one of the guiding principles on which the United States was founded. More than two centuries later, our nation is one of the most religiously diverse in the world and has become a safe harbor for immigrants and visitors of all faiths and no faith, including refugees fleeing persecution in their homelands.

President Trump’s Muslim ban flies in the face of these long-held principles. It is no surprise that the ban is now being challenged in multiple federal courts across the country. Indeed, the ban tramples on two of our most cherished constitutional protections: the guarantee that the government will not establish, favor, discriminate against, or condemn any religion, and the guarantee of equal protection of the laws.

Why then has the Constitution Subcommittee Chairman Steve King (R-Iowa) refused to call a single witness who can speak from personal experience about the significant harm that Trump’s Muslim ban has caused? Last week, the ACLU wrote to Chairman King to say that we stand ready to assist in helping to identify possible witnesses with relevant experiences. Our offer went unanswered.

https://www.aclu.org/blog/washington-markup/why-isnt-trumps-muslim-ban-front-and-center-religious-liberty-hearing

[guillaumeb]

1. From the article:

While religious freedom is one of our most fundamental values, it does not give anyone the right to impose their beliefs on others, to harm others, or to discriminate. The kind of broad religious exemptions championed by groups like ADF aren’t about protecting religious liberty at all. Rather they are intended to authorize discrimination — plain and simple.

But this right to impose their personal beliefs is exactly what the modern GOP stands for. They have no interest in defending freedom of religion or thought or speech that does not accord with their own religion and thought and speech.

[marybourg]

2. It's the persecuted minority called

Christians, whose country this really IS, who are losing their religious liberty to impose their religion on others. How come we can't all understand that?

[rug]

3. Looks to me like the persecuted minority is called republicans.

[Fred Sanders]

4. Obviously religious liberty means liberty only for one certain religion.

And only for the right type of one religion, the type that loves Jesus but hate just about all he said and stood for. The hypocrisy is dripping.