Lawmakers in Congress are seeking to gut the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a move that’s causing concern over the future of American religious liberties.
Representates Joe Kennedy III and Bobby Scott, both Democrats, have introduced the Do No Harm Act which would strip RFRA of its given religious freedom protections.
President Bill Clinton signed the bill into law in 1993.
The bill’s goal is “to amend the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 to protect civil rights and otherwise prevent meaningful harm to third parties, and for other purposes.”
In defending his proposal Kennedy said “The right of Americans to freely and fully express our faith is sacred in this country,” . “But in order to guarantee that liberty for every citizen, our system must ensure that my religious freedom does not infringe on yours or do you harm.”
Wesley J. Smith, writing for National Review, calls the Do No Harm Act a bill “to gut” RFRA and a measure that would do irreparable harm to religious freedom.
He said, “If this bill passes, one of the last vestiges of (religious) liberty in this country will be obliterated in the name of furthering a particular social agenda favored by the left.”
He wrote even though Democrats played a key role in passing RFRA in the early 1990s, many oppose it now because they believe it’s a road block to gay rights.