The Equality Act’s Attack on Religious Freedom and Charity

The Stream ^ | April 30, 2021 | Jeff Myers

[Heartlander]

Pay close attention as the Senate considers taking up HR5, the deceptively-named “Equality Act.” It’s getting a soft-sell from its sponsors as a harmless way to include LGBTQ people under federal civil rights protections. In reality, HR5 undoes the work of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and creates breathtaking new levels of discrimination. In other editorials, I’ve talked about how HR5 hurts women and racial minorities. Now we’ll talk about how it harms religious freedom.

How HR5, the “Equality Act,” Damages Religious Freedom

In the US Constitution’s Bill of Rights, religious freedom is the first right protected. It is mentioned before freedom of speech or the press or the right to freely assemble. This right was more recently codified into current law during President Clinton’s administration through the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). RFRA says that religious freedom must be protected by the federal government except in extreme cases where the government has a compelling interest in restricting it — for example if a religious group calls for violence against the citizenry — and it must do so by the least restrictive means.

But HR5 specifically removes this protection of religious freedom. It says that there is no good reason to oppose the government’s definition of sexual orientation and gender identity, whatever those definitions turn out to be. If a man who believes he is a woman wants to live in the women’s dormitory at a Christian college, he must be allowed to do so, or the college will be punished. If a homeless man claiming to be a woman wants to shower in the locker room of a women’s shelter, he must be allowed to do so, or the shelter will be punished.

The language contained in the Equality...

[Rurudyne]

It’s all about the poofters and transtwits.

Make homosexual acts illegal everywhere. Make medical gender mutilations or other gender manipulation techniques illegal everywhere.

[I want the USA back]

Equality means sameness. Nothing ]to do with equality. It’s pretending that any and all perversions are so good that people who don’t practice them MUST be forced to accept them, to embrace them, and to actively promote them.