The Louisiana legislature has moved one step closer to amending the time-tested religious freedom protections of the state's constitution. Voters would have the final say on House Bill 340, which needed 26 Senators to pass and squeaked by, 27-9 according to The Advocate. What the impact of the change would be, of course, depends on who you ask.
House Bill 340, sponsored by state Rep. Cameron Henry, R-Jefferson, attempts to “clarify” the state Constitution’s provision for the free exercise of religion, according to proponents of the bill.
Opponents say the constitutional amendment, which voters would have to approve, actually muddies the water and opens the state to lawsuits.
The change would add the following language (pdf) to the standard Establishment and Free Exercise clauses of the Louisiana Constitution:
No person acting under color of law shall burden the free exercise of religion, even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, unless the government proves that it has a compelling governmental interest in infringing upon the specific expression, act, or refusal to act at issue, and that there is no other less burdensome alternative. The free exercise of religion shall include the right of every person to freely express his sincerely held religious belief and to engage in or refrain from activity based on a sincerely held religious belief. A burden shall include, but not be limited to a direct burden as well as an indirect burden such as withholding benefits, assessing penalties, or exclusion from professions, programs, or facilities.
