| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 2/17/2012 11:25:48 AM Home School Legal Defense Association VICTORY for Religious Freedom! |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== VICTORY for Religious Freedom! Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: Your calls and emails made a difference! Thank you for your effort in support of the West Virginia Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), HB 2657, which passed the Judiciary Committee this morning on a voice vote. The bill will now go on to the House for floor action as early as today. We are asking you to take action now by contacting your delegate to ask him or her to support this legislation. HSLDA, Heritage Communications and CHEWV have been working on this bill for the past four years, and we are grateful to have passed one important hurdle and can hope to see this important bill become law. This is also noteworthy because this legislation was a great priority of the late Christopher J. Klicka, HSLDA senior counsel, who was instrumental in creating the model legislation and getting it passed in almost a score of other states. We hope that West Virginia will become the latest state to pass this important legislation restoring protections to religious freedom that were lost after a Supreme Court cases in the mid-1990s. HSLDA would like to thank all of those who made the effort to support religious freedom by calling, emailing, and visiting their delegates and members of the Judiciary Committee. Your contact has helped to gain support for a RFRA in West Virginia. Please take a moment now to contact your delegate and ask him or her to support this legislation as it heads for the floor of the House of Representatives. ACTION REQUESTED Please contact your delegate and ask him or her to support HB 2657 the West Virginia Religious Freedom Restoration Act. You can give the following message in your own words: "Please support House Bill 2657, the West Virginia Religious Freedom Restoration Act. HB 2657 strengthens our First Amendment rights of religious liberty by requiring states to meet the compelling interest test before infringing on the religious beliefs of West Virginia citizens. This test is necessary to protect religious freedom." You can find out who your delegate is by clicking here: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=13798 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 gave the lowest level of protection to religious liberty. Under this minimal 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 exceedingly limited. If passed, the West Virginia RFRA would restore the high 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=13799 Mountaineers Always Free, Michael P. Donnelly, Esq. Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> For as little as 33 cents a day... There's not much you can get for 33 cents a day. Why not put your money toward peace of mind for yourself, your family, and their future? More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1110 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. 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If this is an invalid email address or you have other problems, please reply to webmaster@hslda.org. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER: This is considered a private and confidential message from HSLDA to its bonafide HSLDA E-lert Service subscribers. HSLDA cannot attest to the authenticity of copies posted, forwarded, or sent by any party other than HSLDA. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: Please do not reply or otherwise use this email address; hslda@hslda.org is for broadcast purposes only and is not intended to receive incoming messages. We cannot reply to any email sent to this address. If you have comments or questions, please send email to info@hslda.org or call HSLDA at 540-338-5600. HSLDA members can also email staff directly through the Members website at http://members.hslda.org/contact.asp. Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
