Free Republic

For a record 14th year in a row, the State Department has overruled the advice of an independent statutory watchdog and decided not to blacklist Pakistan for religious freedom abuses. The decision not to designate Pakistan a “country of particular concern” under the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) comes despite its government’s continuing rejection of calls to amend or rescind the world’s most notorious blasphemy laws — which carry the death penalty and are frequently used to target Christians and other minorities. It also comes just days after a new U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) report highlighted...

As Americans, we’re blessed by our Constitutional freedoms, but they’re so easily taken for granted. When any of our liberties are under attack, they must be defended and preserved for future generations. Our religious civil liberties are guaranteed by the First Amendment to the US Constitution: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Clarifying religious freedom is an ongoing challenge. In Everson...

Sharon Stone has cancelled filming of an upcoming project in Mississippi as a result of the state’s newly passed anti-LGBT ‘religious freedom on steroids’ bill, HB 1523. The film’s producers informed Mississippi Film Studios president Rick Moore that the law was a deal-breaker for Stone. The unnamed film project reportedly tackles the consequences of cyberbullying. James Cromwell is slated to direct. “Unfortunately, Sharon Stone feels strongly that shooting in Mississippi is not an option while the law exists,” Moore said. “The other producers have chosen to regroup and find another location.” Moore said he has heard of projects on the...

Georgia Republican Governor Nathan Deal recently vetoed H.B. 757, the Georgia Religious Liberty Bill. The governor warned that he would veto any legislation that "allows discrimination in our state in order to protect people of faith." He went on to tell fellow Republicans, who shepherded the bill that they should "recognize that the world is changing around us." Governor Deal wasn't alone in issuing warnings about the bill. Large corporations with a presence in the state threatened to pull operations out of Georgia if the bill passed. Perhaps this was more on Governor Deal's mind than our changing world. This...

Dear Bruce,As a resident of North Carolina since 2003, I read with interest that you decided to cancel your April 10th concert in Greensboro because of HB2, the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act.In your statement you explained that, in your view, the bill is “an attempt by people who cannot stand the progress our country has made in recognizing the human rights of all of our citizens to overturn that progress.” You added that it was time for you and your band “to show solidarity for those freedom fighters” (speaking of transgender activists), and you ended your statement with...

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe has vetoed legislation he said would legalize discrimination of the LGBT community. The Democratic governor made the announcement Wednesday during a radio appearance on WTOP. The measure would prohibit the state from punishing religious groups that refuse services related to gay marriages. Republican supporters said it would protect people from expressing their religious beliefs. …

Hanging on the rest room door of a Kroger grocery store in Athens, Georgia is a sign explaining why the facilities are unisex: “We have a UNISEX bathroom because sometimes gender specific toilets put others into uncomfortable situations.” The note goes on to list a few examples of such situations -- dads with small daughters, moms with young sons, and adults with aging parents who may be mentally or physically disabled. It is an example of something that in a place far, far away and at a time long, long ago, would have required no explanation. Not so in 21st...

Liberals do a poor job of defending their beliefs with facts, logic or debate, but they have become unparalleled masters at keeping their opponents’ side of the argument from being presented at all. We have kids who are never exposed to conservatism in high school who go to college where the professors are liberal; then they graduate and get their information from their local paper and all TV outlets except for Fox which are liberal, and they watch ostensibly non-political Hollywood-produced liberal movies and TV shows that reinforce left-wing viewpoints. As if that isn’t enough, liberals go to great lengths...

Gov. Nathan Deal on Monday vetoed the controversial Religious Freedom bill, saying it "contains language that causes me concern." “I do not think we have to discriminate against anyone to protect the faith-based community in Georgia of which I and my family have been part of all of our lives,” Deal said.

mayor of San Francisco has banned all publicly-funded city employees from traveling to North Carolina. The NFL is threatening to block Atlanta, Georgia from hosting a future Super Bowl. The NBA is threatening to relocate next year’s All Star game from Charlotte, North Carolina to another city. Corporate giants like American Airlines and Hollywood giants like Disney are threatening action against Georgia and North Carolina. Why? It is because North Carolina has passed a bill requiring people to use the public bathroom or locker room that corresponds to their birth certificate gender and because Georgia has enacted legislation (yet to...

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a group of cases challenging the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that non-profit employers offer health-care coverage that includes contraception, abortifacients, and sterilization. The challengers in the consolidated cases, captioned Zubik v. Burwell, include Little Sisters of the Poor, Priests for Life, and a variety of religious non-profits. Many of the arguments that have been put forth in support of the plaintiffs involve conscience rights. These are important arguments that certainly deserve attention. However, in the amicus brief I filed in on behalf of the Charlotte Lozier Institute, I emphasized public-health...

If you were totally avoiding the internet today, or if you live under a particularly pleasant and comfortable rock, maybe you don’t know that the federal government and a bunch of nuns are duking it out before the Supreme Court over birth control. More to the point, they’re fighting over the Little Sisters of the Poors’ refusal to subsidize contraception and abortion-causing drugs for their employees via their health insurance coverage, all of whom, by the way, are mandated by the President Obama’s signature eponymous government overreach law to purchase their own health insurance. Well, fair’s fair, right? I mean,...

On Wednesday night the Georgia legislature introduced new language to its religious freedom bill and passed the bill in mere hours. Haste makes waste. This new language significantly waters down a religious freedom bill that had real force even though it was, as we pointed out three weeks ago, already lacking in certain respects.

ATLANTA — The Georgia General Assembly’s approval of a proposal to strengthen legal protections for opponents of same-sex marriage has set in motion a high-stakes showdown that has drawn some of the nation’s most influential companies into a battle between gay rights activists and religious conservatives. The bill, which lawmakers approved on Wednesday, now faces the scrutiny of Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican. But it is clear that companies and sports organizations, including Apple, Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines and the National Football League, will have a significant effect on public debate and the governor’s decision to sign or veto the...

Over the past 28 years there has been a sea change in the media. Not only has the monopoly of the so-called mainstream media been shattered but the phenomenal rise of conservative media has been truly stunning. It began in 1988 with the national syndication of Rush Limbaugh and his distinctive brand of conservative political commentary espoused in an entertaining and captivating way, which opened the flood gates for other conservatives, together with Rush, to dominate the talk radio airwaves. In the 1990’s the internet, through hundreds of websites, gave voice to journalists to report stories either ignored or downplayed...

and "Rent boy Marco Rubio."

The following commentary (slightly edited) was written by the staunchly pro-life Father Joseph Klee, a priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus. In the Church, overt partisan politics must be avoided, but that's not to say that we are to check our faith at the door relative to selecting earthly leaders. The Church and her leaders should assist the formation of the faithful's consciences so as to ultimately help them make morally-sound decisions in voting. Although the situation relative to the presidential candidates for this fall 2016 election is changing quite often (with 'revised' candidates' stands on issues, revelations...

Let’s take a break from the primary battles and check in on the latest antics unfolding out in California. This month, having solved all other problems plaguing their state, the California legislature has taken up a new measure which would ban government funded travel to states which they deem to be insufficiently supportive of LGBT rights. The author of the bill, Evan Lowe, seems to feel that such a move will be a way to take a stand for the little guy, I suppose. (Time) A California lawmaker has introduced a bill that would ban government-funded travel to states with...

ORLANDO, February 4, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) -- “It is no longer easy to be a faithful Christian, a good Catholic, an authentic witness to the truths of the Gospel,” said Princeton Professor Robert George to a large crowd at the Legatus Summit in Orlando, Florida last weekend. Professor George added that people can still safely identify as “Catholic” as long as they don’t believe, or will at least be completely silent about, “what the Church teaches on issues such as marriage and sexual morality and the sanctity of human life.” He said “the guardians of those norms of cultural orthodoxy that...

The “inversion of the original meaning of liberty” in Obergefell v. Hodges, observed Justice Clarence Thomas in dissent, “will likely cause collateral damage to other aspects of our constitutional order that protect liberty . . . It appears all but inevitable that [civil and religious marriage] will come into conflict.”In Obergefell’s aftermath, it is possible that the government will ask religious institutions to choose between retaining their non-profit tax status and retaining their beliefs. But the “collateral damage” will not stop at their sanctuary doors. Many churches, synagogues, and mosques also operate schools, and they will be the next targets. Of the 30,000 private schools in...