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| Date: From: Subject: | 3/19/2013 4:51:32 PM Scott Woodruff--HSLDA Kansas--Vote Coming Soon on Religious Freedom! |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Kansas--Vote Coming Soon on Religious Freedom! Dear HSLDA Kansas Members and Friends, Yesterday the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the bill that will protect religious freedom in Kansas, HB 2203, but the committee has not voted yet, so there is still time for your calls! A U.S. Supreme Court decision several years ago downgraded the amount of protection the federal government can give to faith-based actions. But the court left the door open for individual states to bring back the high level of protection that faith-in-action previously enjoyed. Since that time more than a dozen states have enacted laws protecting religious freedom at the level it enjoyed before. It's time for Kansas to go on record and protect religious expression! ACTION REQUESTED Please call your Kansas state senator right away if he or she is listed below. Your message can be as simple as, "Please vote YES on HB 2203. Please protect religious freedom from being downgraded." If your own senator is not listed below as a committee member, please call the committee chairman with the same message. Use our Legislative Toolbox or another source to find the name of your senator. (Be sure to type in your ZIP code: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=17381 ) CONTACT INFORMATION--Senate Judiciary Committee members Sen. Jeff King, Chair (785) 296-7361 Sen. Greg Smith, Vice Chair (785) 296-7367 Sen. David Haley, Ranking Minority Member (785) 296-7376 Sen. Terry Bruce (785) 296-2497 Sen. Forrest Knox (785) 296-7678 Sen. Garrett Love (785) 296-7359 Sen. Julia Lynn (785) 296-7382 Sen. Carolyn McGinn (785) 296-7377 Sen. Mike Petersen (785) 296-7355 Sen. Pat Pettey (785) 296-7375 Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook (785) 296-7362 BACKGROUND Historically, government agencies could push aside someone's right to exercise his religion only if the government had a super good reason (a "compelling" reason), and used the least restrictive method possible. But freedom lurched backward in 1990 when a U.S. Supreme Court case (Employment Division vs. Smith) treated this foundational right as if it were only ordinary. This empowered government to trump your religious freedom for any just barely "rational" reason. And government encroachment almost always triumphs over the freedom of a citizen under that standard because it is ridiculously easy to show that a government restriction is just rational. The public demanded change. HSLDA was in the forefront of the battle, and a federal law was passed and signed by President Clinton in 1993 to restore the historic level of protection. We thought the freedom to live out one's faith was safe. But in 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court shocked us again. In the City of Boerne case, it said the new federal law could not be used to stop individual states from violating the rights of citizens. This gave states the green light to downgrade your religious freedom to the lowest possible level (i.e., treat it like an "ordinary" right). In 2000, the U.S. Congress passed a law giving prisoners the highest level of protection in their religious expression. But this did not help law-abiding Kansas residents. The long-standing practice of pastor-laity confidentiality was repeatedly violated. A Catholic hospital was denied accreditation for refusing to teach abortion techniques. A church ministry to the homeless was forced to shut down because it was located on the second floor of a building with no elevator. A church was prohibited from feeding more than 50 people per day. Thankfully, the Supreme Court's City of Boerne decision left the door open for states individually to pass laws giving more protection. So now it's up to states to stand up and be counted! That is what HB 2203 does. It puts Kansas on record as saying the freedom to practice one's religion must be protected just as it was before 1990. It "levels the playing field" in conflicts between enormous government power and the freedom of the individual citizen. It gives you the same protection that prisoners in Kansas have enjoyed for 13 years. Some might argue that we should just let "common law" keep on developing as it has. But this ignores the fact that the reason governments exist in the first place is to protect our rights (read the Declaration of Independence). It's only when the legislature abdicates its duty to protect our rights that the job by default falls back into the lap of the courts. Yes, if the legislature is silent, the courts will fill the void with their own opinions. But that is the least democratic way to address the issue of rights. You may be told that the Kansas or U.S Constitution already protects religious expression. Unfortunately, neither one specifies whether religious freedom must be given the strong protection of a fundamental right, or whether it can be given the minimal protection of an ordinary right. HB 2203 fills that gap for Kansas residents. For more information on religious freedom restoration acts in general, visit our website at: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=17217 HSLDA and the Christian Home Educators Confederation of Kansas are united in supporting this bill. Thank you for standing with us for freedom! Sincerely Yours, Scott A. Woodruff, Esq., Senior Counsel, Home School Legal Defense Association P.S. We greatly value you and your support--it is a privilege to serve you! If you or someone you know is not a member of HSLDA, will you consider taking a moment today to join or recommend us? 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Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
