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| Date: From: Subject: | 2/6/2012 3:43:08 PM Home School Legal Defense Association New Hampshire: Calls Needed to Protect Religious Freedom! |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== New Hampshire: Calls Needed to Protect Religious Freedom! Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: House Bill 1536 is the New Hampshire Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), sponsored by Stephen Palmer, Hillsborough-District 6, and designed to protect religious freedom in The Granite State. This bill is necessary because of United States Supreme Court rulings that have undermined religious freedom as a fundamental constitutional right of its own. RFRAs have been used to defend homeschoolers with sincere religious convictions in court when their homeschools have been challenged. If passed with an amendment, HB 1536 would prohibit the government from substantially burdening a person's exercise of religion unless it meets the highest constitutional test available. That test requires that the government show that its action which burdens a person's religious freedom is "essential to further a compelling governmental interest and it is the least restrictive means of furthering that interest." A public hearing of the bill is scheduled for this Wednesday February 8, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. in LOB 206; if you are able please consider attending to testify in favor of RFRA. Please take action, as requested below, to help secure this important freedom. ACTION REQUESTED Please contact of the House Constitutional Review and Statutory Recodification Committee and ask them to support HB 1536. Because this legislation applies to all New Hampshire citizens, you need not identify yourself as a homeschooler. Use: CSCR@leg.state.nh.us to contact the entire committee. Please use the following message as a guide: "Please support House Bill 1536 with an amendment. The New Hampshire Religious Freedom Restoration Act HB 1536 will strengthen our First Amendment rights of religious liberty by requiring states to meet the compelling interest test before infringing on the religious beliefs of New Hampshire citizens. This test is necessary to properly protect religious freedom in light of United States Supreme Court decisions. " To get individual committee member contact information go to: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=13632 BACKGROUND On June 25, 1997, by a 6-3 majority, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in The City of Boerne v. Flores that the 1993 federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) was unconstitutional. By doing this, the Court reduced protections for religious liberty. Under this lower standard the state can override a citizen's right to freely exercise his or her religious beliefs by simply proving that its regulation is "reasonable." Since nearly all state regulations can be determined to be "reasonable," religious freedom is potentially limited. Sixteen states have passed RFRAs and eight other states have provided for higher protections of religious liberty through state Supreme Court decisions. If passed, the RFRA would restore the standard of protection for religious liberty previously guaranteed in the federal RFRA and earlier Supreme Court decisions. For additional information, visit our issues library at: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=13633 We are standing with you to defend your freedom! Sincerely, Michael P. Donnelly, Esq. Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> "I saved my entire membership fee with one discount" "When I called Liberty to find out what kind of discount we could get, they told us we would 10% off our car insurance and 5% off our homeowner's insurance. What we will save is more than double what it costs to join HSLDA. 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Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
