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Missouri: The Latest Religious Liberty Battleground

Missouri: The Latest Religious Liberty Battleground

Last updated on: March 11, 2016 at 11:13 am by Bill Blankschaen

Missouri: The Latest Religious Liberty Battleground 2016-03-11T11:13:43-07:00 Bill Blankschaen

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Georgia isn’t the only state where religious freedom is under attack these days. As we warn in You Will Be Made to Care, the Left is just getting started.

In Missouri, Democratic senators filibustered a bill that would permit the people of Missouri to vote to amend their Constitution to give clear protection to those who object on moral grounds to redefining the institution of marriage.

Missouri State Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal and other Democratic lawmakers filibustered to block the bill they say—wait for it—discriminates against same-sex couples.

The filibuster began Monday afternoon, continued for 39 hours and ended Wednesday afternoon. The bill passed 21-11 after GOP senators broke the filibuster.

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The bill is known as Senate Joint Resolution 39. It proposes “protection of certain religious organizations and individuals from being penalized by the state because of their sincere religious beliefs or practices concerning marriage between two persons of the same sex.”

Sen. Bob Onder said the bill, “protects churches, pastors, religious organizations in a very well-defined class of individuals from being penalized, targeted, persecuted on the basis of their religious beliefs.”

The bill would simply give Missouri voters the final say.

To become part of the constitution, a majority of voters must approve it in a statewide vote. Democratic politicians stood in the way of the people. Why not give them a vote? What are they afraid of?

Here’s how Democratic Sen. Jamilah Nasheed framed the issue as she channeled her inner Anthony Kennedy: “This bill is a direct hit on those individuals who decide to love and be in love with the same sex, and that’s not fair.”

Riiiiight. Because if two people love each other, we should call that marriage, apparently. Correction: she didn’t actually limit it to two did she? That would, after all, be discriminatory. And so the wildfire burns….

Not surprisingly, the ACLU and PROMO advocacy group chimed in: “These dangerous bills and potential constitutional amendments only succeed in showing people Missouri is not a welcoming state,” the organizations said in a letter to lawmakers last month. “We should focus on keeping Missouri competitive, not keep people away.”

In other words, it would be shame to have anything happen to your economy, Missouri (maniacal laugh).

Just as we are seeing with Georgia’s own crony capitalism, money trumps religious freedom for big business and corrupt politicians.

Once again the Left is trying to take advantage of our national desire to be nice to guilt us into compliance.

Never mind that people of faith will leave any state as it becomes more hostile to their freedoms. Never mind that their businesses will continue to be fined out of existence. Never mind that their personal assets will continue to be seized by the government or that they will continue to have their lives be made a living hell.

The obstructionist effort was praised by Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, who said they are “standing on the right side of history.” Yes, the call to stand on the right side of history is not new. It has been used to justify many unspeakable horrors in the past. But progress isn’t always all it appears to be.

If progress means “the free exercise of religion” goes the way of the dinosaurs, maybe it’s time that progress lost.

Photo credit: Jim Bowen Creative Commons 2.0

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