Turning the concept of religious freedom on its head
Published June 23, 2015
Editorial by Asheville Citizen-Times, June 19, 2015.
Senate Bill 2, which became law when the General Assembly overrode Gov. Pat McCrory’s veto, landed North Carolina back in the national spotlight again earlier this month.
And not in a good way.
Simply put, the bill undermines the rule of law and turns the concept of religious freedom on its head.
But beyond that, it is an exercise in futility that makes North Carolina look as if it is trying to turn back the clock to yesterday rather than taking on the challenges of today and tomorrow.
SB 2 allows magistrates and registers of deeds to refuse to preside over or certify a same-sex marriage. Never mind that these officials took an oath to uphold the constitution and laws of the state, or that they are paid by taxes levied on all North Carolinians. SB 2 opens the door to letting public officials decide which laws they will enforce.
The law says refusal must be “based upon any sincerely held religious objection.” Lawyers could have a field day litigating the meaning of that phrase. Who decides what is “sincere”? If it is the magistrate or registrar, the word means whatever that person decides it means, which is to say it becomes meaningless.
And rest assured lawyers will be involved in this case. The American Civil Liberties Union has urged same-sex couples “who encounter new hurdles because of this discriminatory law to contact our office.” Invariably, the law will be declared unconstitutional, just as the state constitutional amendment forbidding same-sex marriage was struck down.
The key to religious freedom, as envisioned at the nation’s founding and reinforced by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, is to protect religious minorities against persecution by the majority. SB 2, however, allows opponents of same-sex marriage, who may or may not be a majority in North Carolina, to put barriers in front of a minority.
The law says the rights of same-sex couples to marry will not be affected. “The chief district court judge shall ensure that all individuals issued a marriage license seeking to be married before a magistrate may marry,” it says. But that is easier said than done in a rural county where there is one magistrate and no resident judge.
In the mountains, the issue fell along party lines. Voting to override McCrory’s veto in the Senate were Republicans Tom Apodaca of Hendersonville, Ralph Hise of Spruce Pine and Jim Davis of Franklin. Voting to sustain the veto was Democrat Terry Van Duyn of Asheville.
In the House, votes to override were cast by Republicans Chuck McGrady of Hendersonville, Michele Presnell of Burnsville, Roger West of Marble and Chris Whitmire of Rosman. Voting to sustain were Buncombe County Democrats John Ager, Susan Fisher and Brian Turner and Waynesville Democrat Joe Sam Queen.
In his veto message, McCrory pointed out the distinction between personal beliefs and the law. “I recognize that for many North Carolinians, including myself, opinions on same-sex marriage come from sincerely held religious beliefs that marriage is between a man and a woman,” he wrote in the veto message.
“However, we are a nation and a state of laws. Whether it is the president, governor, mayor, a law enforcement officer or magistrate, no public official who voluntarily swears to support and defend the constitution and to discharge all duties of their office should be exempt from upholding that oath.”
Unfortunately, a General Assembly that should have better things to do, chose to engage in an unconstitutional gesture that tarnishes the state’s image and drives a wedge between people.
That is neither big government nor limited government.
It is bad government.
June 23, 2015 at 9:31 am
Norm Kelly says:
Where does this editorial board or editorial writer stand on the current occupier deciding which laws to uphold or which parts of the US Constitution to uphold? ANY criticism at all of demon pols who choose which laws they like and which laws they choose to ignore?
ANY criticism at all of demon pols, including the current occupier, who choose not only to allow illegal immigrants to come here, but continue to push for benefits to illegal aliens, including socialized medicine. (i know. libs/socialists refuse to call obamacancer socialized medicine because it sounds so bad. but truth sometimes hurts!) How about those libs/socialists/America-haters who say that illegal aliens should get in-state tuition rates or free k-12 education? You know, the education that REAL Americans have to PAY FOR! And why is it that REAL AMERICANS have to pay out-of-state tuition but illegal aliens, who have already broken the law just by being here, should get subsidized, in-state tuition rates? This gets a pass by this and most other (liberal ally) media types!? Because ... ?
The more libs spout their ideology, the more convincing it is that socialism, liberalism is a mental disorder. It isn't just that there is no logic to liberalism, it's that there is NO THOUGHT process at all with liberalism. They are ALLOWED and often encouraged to contradict themselves. And the more they confuse themselves, the more eligible they are for elected office. Like their mixed up stance on abortion. Nothing, absolutely nothing should prevent a woman from aborting a baby. Not even lack of funds because even though it's illegal for government money to pay to abort a baby, libs choose NOT to enforce this law either. But the confusing part is that libs protect anyone who PURPOSELY kills a baby (what they call aborting a tissue mass), but prosecute anyone who kills a baby BY ACCIDENT (like a drunk driver causing an accident where a pregnant woman is killed). In the case of accidental death of a baby libs prosecute the offender for double homicide. In the case of purposing killing a baby at any point in the pregnancy including partial birth abortion libs believe it is protected by the US Constitution. When libs read the US Constitution, they ignore stuff that's actually written there. Then, in their mentally incapacitated state, they find stuff like abortion that's NOT actually there, then defend it at all costs, and insist that NOTHING can stand in the way of killing babies. To the point that in NC libs have objected to abortion (baby killing!) clinics being held to the same medical standards as ANY OTHER medical facility. Libs have even gone to the point of saying that it's right for dentists to be held to a higher standard than a baby killer! If that's not demonstration enough for the mental state of liberalism, then nothing will be. Or you are a lib and already confused! The Second Amendment DOES NOT allow me to own a gun, in the 'mind' of a lib. Yet the US Constitution, somewhere, says that killing babies is federally protected activity. Not a single lib can tell you where the US Constitution says this, but they know it's in there. It doesn't say that blacks are half people either, but libs will tell you it's in there SOMEWHERE! Libs are not content with simply being confused themselves, the demand that everyone else go along for the confused journey. Like paying people NOT to work, then claiming it stimulates the economy!
Thank GOD I was born with the ability to think. Thank GOD I have the ability to use both logic & common sense! (yes, i purposely used GOD cuz if libs weren't mad enough at me already for my post, this conclusion ought to push them over the edge! irritating libs is just so easy and so much fun!)
