Letter to the editor: Religions need more safety from government action

How should you vote on Measure 3 in the June primary? There is a simple question that you can ask yourself to determine your vote: Do I want my religious liberty to be easy for the government of North Dakota to restrict or more difficult? This is the issue at stake in Measure 3.

When the U.S. Supreme Court made a decision in a case in the 1990s, the power of the government to infringe on religious liberty increased dramatically, limiting protection of religious liberty to only those laws which specifically spoke to religion. However, as we all know, many laws (think Obamacare) have the potential to infringe on religious liberty even if they do not specifically address religion. Since then, Congress and 27 states have moved to restore protection of religious liberty to the way it was before this court decision in the 90s. What this means for them is that government bears the burden of giving a compelling reason for restricting religious liberty and cannot simply decide to do so.

For us, it means it is time for North Dakotans to make a stand to protect our religious liberties from the weakening imposed upon us by the U.S. Supreme Court. Measure 3 is our vehicle. Don’t let anyone scare you into your decision. Get the facts. Align yourself with the Founding Fathers when they made religious liberty the first issue addressed in the First Amendment of the Constitution.

Alison Grotberg

Wimbledon, N.D.

Tags: measure 3, opinion, letters