Written by Don Byrd
Mississippi state senators are giving Religious Freedom Restoration Act legislation one more chance. Back in January, the Senate unanimously passed the bill, which would raise the standard for when the government can burden a person’s religious exercise. But that was before, in many states considering such legislation, the RFRA debate was flooded with concerns about discrimination. (See my earlier post, “What Happened in Arizona?”).
The Mississippi House responded by voting to send the RFRA portion of the bill back to be studied. The Senate, however, rejected that idea on Thursday.
Associated Press reports:
The Senate on Thursday voted to send Senate Bill 2681 into negotiations with the House.
The two sides face a Monday deadline to file a final version of the bill, known as the Mississippi Religious Freedom Restoration Act. If they don’t meet that deadline, the bill will die. If they do reach a compromise, it would be sent to both chambers for a vote by the middle of next week.
You can read Mississippi’s Senate Bill 2861 here.
It is very similar to the one recently proposed in Georgia, HB 1023. The Baptist Joint Committee sent a letter to Georgia Representatives urging them to reject that proposal because it did not include the “substantial burden” requirement that is central to federal RFRA safeguards. Mississippi’s RFRA proposal also lacks that protection.
Religion, as the BJC’s letter to Georgia reps cautioned, should not be allowed to be a “trump card” against all government regulation.
