COMMENTARY: Texas lawmakers are using religion to discriminate

[Heddi]

http://www.themonitor.com/opinion/columnists/article_0b420ab2-1403-11e7-9eb0-7b6700b9174e.html

Texas lawmakers in the current legislative session have filed at least 25 bills that promote or even require discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. This is wrong.


But of all the hateful legislation that has been filed, the most disturbing bills include 17 that, if all passed, would allow government officials, private individuals and businesses to use religion as justification to discriminate against LGBT people in virtually every aspect of their lives.

These bills authorize unequal treatment under the law, whether it’s a gay student seeking counseling services or a job, a same-sex couple seeking to marry or to provide a loving home to a foster child, or a transgender person needing basic medical care or trying to rent an apartment.

Religious freedom is one of our most fundamental rights as Americans. But we as faith leaders are troubled when we see politicians trying to redefine that freedom to mean the right to hurt people who are different.

[Guilded Lilly]

1. As hard as the Religious Freedom line has been pushed...

in this country as a fundamental right, it has, with a very powerful, large, and vocal portion of the population been used for the advancement of hate, cruelty, excessive greed and particular meanness. It has been so since those fleeing religious persecution elsewhere landed here and immediately began persecuting the indigenous Americans and each other. The obsession for persecution will not, apparently, ever change. Geography made little difference.

True people of faith and open mindedness live their faith with respect and peaceful dignity. It is a supremely decent ideal. The love and acceptance based morality of those ideals has saved countless souls.

It is, however, in this world, and this country, the biggest "lie" that others of false faith use as a vicious weapon to further, mostly, hatred, physical suffering and from a capitalistic view point...religious greed.

Unfortunately, the idealistic faithful have never been the power brokers. Thus, spiritual strength has very little legal consequence. Peaceful co-existence is not a driving force of those humans who will always and forever use the hypocrisy and deceit of their "Religion" based spewing to violently control every aspect of other people's lives.

[Lordquinton]

2. So, no true Scotsman

Got it.