Obama: "Religious Freedom" Does Not Justify Denial of Civil Rights

In sharp contrast to Pope Francis' anti-gay batshitery, Barack Obama made it clear that the self-centered smoke screen of "religious freedom" does not give one the right to deny others their civil and constitutional rights.  At least not in America.  Not in the America envisioned by the Founding Fathers.  Perhaps in pre-Revolution France or in the halls of the Vatican populated by bitter old men in dresses.  LGBTNation looks at Obama's remarks at a Democratic fundraiser over the weekend.  Here are highlights:

Freedom of religion isn’t reason enough to deny any American their constitutional rights, President Barack Obama said Sunday as he addressed members of the LGBT community, one of his major sources of political and financial support.

Speaking at a Democratic Party fundraiser, Obama said it’s important to recognize that some parts of the country remain uncomfortable with same-sex marriage and that it will take time for them to catch up to the majority of Americans who support such unions.

But while Americans hold dear the constitutional right to practice their religion free from government interference, he said that right can’t be used to deny constitutional rights to others.

“We affirm that we cherish our religious freedom and are profoundly respectful of religious traditions,” Obama said during remarks that were interrupted by repeated applause and cheers. “But we also have to say clearly that our religious freedom doesn’t grant us the freedom to deny our fellow Americans their constitutional rights.”

“And that even as we are respectful and accommodating genuine concerns and interests of religious institutions, we need to reject politicians who are supporting new forms of discrimination as a way to scare up votes. That’s not how we move America forward,” he added. That was an apparent reference to some of the Republican presidential candidates.

Obama got some of his biggest cheers and loudest applause when he said “we live in an America where ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ is something that ‘don’t exist.'” Obama lifted the Pentagon policy that barred gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.

“And tonight, thanks to the unbending sense of justice passed down through generations of citizens who never gave up hope that we could bring this country closer to our founding ideals … we now live in America where our marriages are equal as well,” he said.

If Christofascists want the right to discriminate against others, then the trade off should be that others are free to openly discriminate against Christofascists .  I suspect that if that were the legal trade off, the Kim Davis' of the nation might change their stance overnight.