Lawmakers Seek to Strip Religious Freedom Act of Its Protections
ICC Note: A new bill called the Do No Harm Act has been introduced by Rep. Joe Kennedy and Rep. Bobby Scott which could have serious implications for religious freedom in the US. The bill is intended “to amend the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) of 1993” in order to prevent harm to third party groups and ensure their rights. However, many have spoken out saying that these edits to the RFRA, which holds the government to high standards before they take legal action that would affect religious freedoms, would be a step in the wrong direction for religious liberty.
By Mark Martin
05/25/2016 United States (CBN News) – Lawmakers in Congress are seeking to gut the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a move that’s causing concern over the future of American religious liberties.
Rep. Joe Kennedy III, D-Mass., and Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., have introduced the Do No Harm Act which would strip RFRA of its given religious freedom protections. Presdent Bill Clinton signed the bill into law in 1993.
The bill reads that its goal is “to amend the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 to protect civil rights and otherwise prevent meaningful harm to third parties, and for other purposes.”
“The right of Americans to freely and fully express our faith is sacred in this country,” Kennedy said in a statement. “But in order to guarantee that liberty for every citizen, our system must ensure that my religious freedom does not infringe on yours or do you harm.”
“While not its original intent, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act has become a vehicle for those seeking to impose their beliefs on others or claim that the tenants of their faith justify discrimination,” he continued.
However, in a blog for National Review, Wesley J. Smith says not so fast. He calls the Do No Harm Act a bill “to gut” RFRA and a measure that would do irreparable harm to religious freedom.
“If this bill passes, one of the last vestiges of (religious) liberty in this country will be obliterated in the name of furthering a particular social agenda favored by the left,” Smith writes.