Written by Don Byrd
There is no fighting it any longer. I held off as long as I could. But the 2016 presidential primary campaign has begun. And there is every reason to believe religious liberty will be a significant topic.
In an interview with David Brody of Christian Broadcast News, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush (who has all but announced he is running for President) emphasized the importance for him of conscience rights. He discussed the “complicated” issue of religious accommodation for vendors with religious objections to providing services for same-sex marriage ceremonies. There should be a distinction, he argues, between protecting against discrimination and requiring participation in weddings.
Here is an excerpt from the interview:
Jeb Bush: It’s not just that people of faith can have their views. It’s that they . . . need the space to act on their conscience. That is what faith is about. The best of our faith – anybody of faith, Christian, Jewish, all faiths – is when people act on their core beliefs in a way to help others, or to protect the vulnerable, or to do whatever they think is right based on their faith. And now that is being attacked. You have Hillary Clinton saying that people of faith kinda need to get over it as it relates to abortion, they need to put aside their views. we shoudln’t ever let that happen. People ought to be able to express their faith but also act on it in the public square.
David Brody: . . . This conscience that you talk about comes up with the bakers and the florists who we hear all the time about these Christian bakers and florists who, look, this is not about serving a cupcake to someone who is gay. Of course you have to do that, obviously. This is more about the vendor issue as it relates to do they want to provide a service for same-sex weddings. Are you okay if they don’t provide those type of services? Is that okay?
Jeb Bush: Yes, absolutely, if it’s based on a religious belief.
The best example is the florist in Washintgon State, who may lose her business because of this. And has lost a lot because of the cost of all this. She had a regular customer who came in and she would provide flowers to him and he was going to marry his significant other, asked her to participate as a friend in the wedding, to help organize it. And she thought about it and said “Look, I love you. You’re my friend, but I can’t participate. It goes against my conscience.”
A big country, a tolerant country ought to be able to figure out the difference between discriminating against someone because of their sexual orientation and not forcing someone to participate in a wedding that they find goes against their moral beliefs. We should be able to figure this out. This should not be this complicated but gosh it is right now.
Meanwhile, a super-PAC supporting Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is running an ad in Iowa entitled “Religious Liberty,” featuring Jindal speaking on the topic.
Here is the text, which ends with the graphic “Defend Religious Liberty”:
Our religious liberty must in no way ever be linked to the ever-changing opinions of the public. We must understand that our freedom of conscience protects all Americans of every persuasion. These are rights endowed by our Creator, given to humanity by God above. The United States of America did not create religious liberty. Religious liberty created the United States of America.
You can use the tag 2016 Presidential Election linked at the top of this post to keep up with all blog posts related to religious liberty and the campaign going forward. It could be a long season, with a huge number of candidates. Those of you that live in Iowa, New Hampshire, or South Carolina are in my thoughts . . .
