McAuliffe Vetoes GOP/Christofascist Prayer Bill

The obvious answer: Pharisees

One thing about the Christofascists and their political prostitutes in the Republican Party is that they never cease in their agenda of trying to force their hate and fear based religious beliefs on others and of securing special rights for themselves.  A case in point is a bill - GOP backed, of course - which would have barred any censorship of prays and preaching by National Guard chaplains.    Thankfully, Terry McAuliffe vetoed the bill and Christofascist chaplains will have to give deference to the beliefs of all National Guard members.  The Virginian Pilot looks at the bill and the veto.  Here are highlights:

Gov. Terry McAuliffe has vetoed Republican-sponsored legislation that would prohibit state censorship of certain military chaplains' prayers, a move lobbied for by the American Civil Liberties Union, but disappointing to some social conservatives.

The Democrat Thursday spiked a bill from GOP Sen. Dick Black of Loudoun County, reasoning his SB 555 "would seriously undermine the religious freedom of National Guard members by potentially exposing them to sectarian proselytizing."

McAuliffe's veto of the bill that would apply to the state-controlled Virginia National Guard and Virginia Defense Force is the second of the governor's young term.

While military chaplains can minister as they choose at voluntary worship services or unofficial private settings, they don't "have the right to use official, mandatory events as a platform to disseminate their own religious views," McAuliffe wrote in a March 27 veto letter.

American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia director Claire Guthrie Gastañaga this month urged McAuliffe to veto Black's bill, arguing "National Guard members required to attend any official event have the right not to be forced to worship in another person's faith."

Sen. Bill Carrico perceives the veto as a blow against religious freedom, not a protection of it, saying McAuliffe has taken a stand "against any bills protecting individuals' rights to conscience."

Note how in Sen. Carrico's view the rights of Christofascist chaplains matters, but the rights on National Guard members at compulsory events do not.  It is sadly the all too typical self-centered, to hell with everyone else attitude which is now the norm with conservative Christians.  Their "religious freedom" is to trump the rights of everyone else.   The real solution is to bar any prayers and preaching from mandatory events period.