Following is a statement from Carly Fiorinia regarding the issue of religious freedom and the Religious Freedom restoration Act:
The recent events in Indiana have prompted a conversation about the importance of promoting and protecting religious freedom. This is a discussion of critical importance for our country.
Too often, we see people who are prevented from practicing their religion because of a government mandate. A Muslim prisoner was not permitted to keep a beard until his religious rights were vindicated in court. A Native American kindergarten student was told he was required to cut his hair in order to attend school, despite his family’s insistence on the religious significance of his long hair. Once again, the courts stepped in to protect his religious rights against government overreach.
The federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, signed into law by President Clinton in 1993, is an important law because it protects these rights against government intrusion. However, because the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act does not apply to the states, 20 states have passed their own religious freedom laws and an additional 12 states have introduced legislation to ensure that the citizens of their states have the opportunity to practice their religions freely. It has not and has never been a license to discriminate.
The debate about gay marriage is really a debate about how the government bestows benefits and whether they should be bestowed equally. I believe they should. I also believe that people of religious conviction know that marriage is a religious institution with a spiritual foundation because only a man and a woman can create life, which is a gift that comes from God. We must protect their rights as well.
I hope that we come to a place in this country where we are prepared to have respectful differences and tolerate those two views. Religious liberty and tolerance are too important to our country.
It is frankly sad to me that politics has become a fact-free zone. It is sad that so many people on the left were quick to turn this into a divisive and destructive debate so they could further their own brand of identity politics. It is sad that CEOs took to Twitter before checking their facts, adding to the division instead of helping build tolerance.
This debate represents what so many believe is wrong with our politics. It has taken an emotional issue for people on both sides and politicians have used it to divide and to score points with their team.
It has been tough for some in the media to understand my position because I refuse to join the game of name calling and vitriol. Politics shouldn't be a game, however. We must find a way to respect one another, to celebrate a culture that protects religious freedom while condemning discrimination.
The recent events in Indiana have prompted a conversation about the importance of promoting and protecting religious freedom. This is a discussion of critical importance for our country.
Too often, we see people who are prevented from practicing their religion because of a government mandate. A Muslim prisoner was not permitted to keep a beard until his religious rights were vindicated in court. A Native American kindergarten student was told he was required to cut his hair in order to attend school, despite his family’s insistence on the religious significance of his long hair. Once again, the courts stepped in to protect his religious rights against government overreach.
The federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, signed into law by President Clinton in 1993, is an important law because it protects these rights against government intrusion. However, because the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act does not apply to the states, 20 states have passed their own religious freedom laws and an additional 12 states have introduced legislation to ensure that the citizens of their states have the opportunity to practice their religions freely. It has not and has never been a license to discriminate.
The debate about gay marriage is really a debate about how the government bestows benefits and whether they should be bestowed equally. I believe they should. I also believe that people of religious conviction know that marriage is a religious institution with a spiritual foundation because only a man and a woman can create life, which is a gift that comes from God. We must protect their rights as well.
I hope that we come to a place in this country where we are prepared to have respectful differences and tolerate those two views. Religious liberty and tolerance are too important to our country.
It is frankly sad to me that politics has become a fact-free zone. It is sad that so many people on the left were quick to turn this into a divisive and destructive debate so they could further their own brand of identity politics. It is sad that CEOs took to Twitter before checking their facts, adding to the division instead of helping build tolerance.
This debate represents what so many believe is wrong with our politics. It has taken an emotional issue for people on both sides and politicians have used it to divide and to score points with their team.
It has been tough for some in the media to understand my position because I refuse to join the game of name calling and vitriol. Politics shouldn't be a game, however. We must find a way to respect one another, to celebrate a culture that protects religious freedom while condemning discrimination.
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