By Trudy Ring
February 02 2017
__________________________________________________________________________________
A draft of an anti-LGBT “religious freedom” executive order
is circulating among federal government agencies, as rumors swirl that
Donald Trump may unveil it at the National Prayer Breakfast Thursday.
The president Monday backed off
on reversing President Obama’s executive order barring companies with
federal government contracts from discriminating on the basis of sexual
orientation or gender identity. But the draft order, obtained by The Nation
and the Investigative Fund, would provide corporations and nonprofits a
broad license to use religious dogma as a justification for
discrimination, much like the First Amendment Defense Act now pending in
Congress, which Trump has said he would sign if it passed.
“The four-page draft order, a copy of which is currently
circulating among federal staff and advocacy organizations, construes
religious organizations so broadly that it covers ‘any organization,
including closely held for-profit corporations,’ and protects ‘religious
freedom” in every walk of life: ‘when providing social services,
education, or healthcare; earning a living, seeking a job, or employing
others; receiving government grants or contracts; or otherwise
participating in the marketplace, the public square, or interfacing with
Federal, State or local governments,’” The Nation reports.
“The draft order seeks to create wholesale exemptions for
people and organizations who claim religious or moral objections to
same-sex marriage, premarital sex, abortion, and trans identity, and it
seeks to curtail women’s access to contraception and abortion through
the Affordable Care Act,” the magazine continues.
The order would, for instance, allow adoption or foster-care
agencies that receive federal funds to discriminate against LGBT
parents or children, without repercussions, Jenny Pizer, senior counsel
and law and policy director for Lambda Legal, told The Nation.
Or federal employees, such those who work for the Social Security
Administration or Department of Veterans Affairs, could conceivably
“refuse on religious grounds to process applications or respond to
questions from those whose benefits depend on same-sex marriages,” Ira
Lupu, a professor emeritus at the George Washington University Law
School, told the publication.
Such an order would likely run afoul of the U.S.
Constitution, according to Lupu and others, in privileging one set of
religious beliefs over others. It may violate the Establishment Clause
of the First Amendment, which prohibits the federal government from
establishing a religion, Lupu said. Tiven said it reminds her of the
Mississippi “license to discriminate” law that was struck down by a
federal court last year because it violated the Establishment Clause as
well as the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment,
guaranteeing all Americans equal protection of the laws. That decision
is currently on appeal.
Even before the draft order circulated, there were rumors
that Trump would use the prayer breakfast to announce some sort of
“license to discriminate” order. The annual event will be held Thursday morning
at the Washington Hilton, and 3,000 people from more than 130 countries
— and a diverse selection of faiths — are expected to attend.
LGBT groups were quick to condemn the draft. “If anything in
this document were to become federal law, it would be a national
license to discriminate, and it would endanger LGBTQ people and their
families,” said GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis in an emailed
statement. “Freedom of religion does not mean the freedom to
discriminate. If the Trump administration moves forward with any of
these unconstitutional and un-American policies, the chorus of public
outcry will get even louder while the president’s approval ratings
continue to crumble.”
“Donald Trump claimed on Monday to be respectful and
supportive of LGBTQ rights,” said Equality Federation executive director
Rebecca Isaacs. “If he signs this leaked executive order it will be
clear that he is anything but respectful and supportive. Freedom of
religion is a core American value that we all share, and that’s why it
is already firmly protected by our constitution. This staggeringly broad
executive order would single out LGBTQ people and give a license to
discriminate. It is unfair and out of step with the belief a majority of
Americans share, that all of us should have a fair opportunity to
provide for ourselves and our families without fear of discrimination.”
Added Mara Keisling, executive director of the National
Center for Transgender Equality: “Make no mistake: this shameful,
sweeping, and unconstitutional order would be about firing people and
denying them health care and other government services simply because of
who they are. It is about federal officials refusing to do their jobs
if it involves helping people they don't like. It is about federal
grantees turning away people who are homeless, hungry, or in danger
because they are transgender. Taxpayer dollars should not come with a
free pass to discriminate. If this draft order or anything remotely like
it is issued, President Trump will have once again shown he stands on
the side of discrimination, this time against the 10 million Americans
who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, including over 1.4
million transgender adults. This is our country too.”
Read more articles from the Advocate, here.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.