President Barack Obama’s top civil rights official repeatedly declined to support religious free speech during a July 27 congressional hearing, despite repeated questioning from Arizona Republican Rep. Trent Franks, who chairs the House’s constitution subcommittee. Tom Perez, the progressive who runs the Justice Department’s civil rights office, refused to answer the questions posed by Franks. “Will you tell us… that this administration’s Department of Justice will never entertain or advance a proposal that criminalizes speech against any religion?” Frank asked four times. Perez refused to answer, saying “it is a hard question, in the sense that when you make threats...
