Letter to the editor: Laws on the books already protect religious freedoms

According to the supporters of Measure 3, the “Religious Freedom” bill, we don’t have enough religious liberty. Never mind that there are already laws on the books protecting religion, both in the U.S. and North Dakota constitutions.

This is a ridiculous measure if you actually read it. The critical part of it says “the right to act or refuse to act in a manner motivated by a sincerely held religious belief may not be burdened unless the government proves it has a compelling governmental interest in infringing the specific act or refusal to act.” Now wouldn’t the government almost always have a way to prove it has a “compelling governmental interest” to infringe upon something? And how can anyone prove (or disprove) a “sincerely held religious belief”? The way I see it, this law would do nothing, except load the court system up with useless litigation. It seems to be nothing more than a “feel good” law to make religious conservatives feel safe from the government. Personally, I see the exact opposite problem. I see the religious right constantly trying to bust down the wall of separation of church and state, which is a direct assault of the First Amendment to the Constitution.

This is also another example of the incredible hypocrisy of right-wing conservatives. These same people who are constantly preaching about less laws and less regulations are now clamoring for more laws and more regulations. How many more examples like this do we need before we can conclude that these right-wingers are as phony as a $3 bill when they claim to be all about less laws and smaller government?

If this bill passes, almost nothing will change. And once the religious right realizes that, they will probably want to pass even more laws to make themselves feel better or safer.

Brad Mills

Jamestown

Tags: measure 3, opinion, letters