 |
| Trump with Christofascists |
The most dedicated core of Donald Trump's base is made up of evangelical Christians lead by leaders of hate groups, many of which have strong white supremacist overtones (e.g., Family Research Council, The Family Foundation, etc.), who shed any veneer of decency and morality when they rallied to Trump's support. While Trump has largely failed to keep any of his major campaign promises, he has continued to deliver for these false Christians whom I refer to as the Christofascist. One of his ways of delivering has been to wage a relentless war against LGBT citizens as most recently embodied in Jeff Sessions release of a directive which gives Christofascists an almost unlimited license to discriminate against gays, but also many others if they mere allege that the targets of their bigotry somehow offend their claimed religious beliefs. As a piece in The Advocate notes, the Christofascists are celebrating. Here are excerpts from the piece:
The Trump administration’s Friday issuance of “religious freedom” guidance and rollback of the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive coverage mandate appalled progressives and many other Americans — but members of the religious right are over the moon. The “religious freedom” guidance, issued by the Department of Justice, assures federal grantees and contractors, and employees of federal agencies, that they don’t have to serve clients who pose a conflict with their religious beliefs — for instance, by being LGBT, a single parent, or a believer in a different religion. It also allows faith-based organizations to discriminate in employment without losing federal contracts or grants, and shapes the stance the federal government will take in court cases regarding discrimination.
A sampling of religious right reactions to Friday’s actions:
“This morning … another concrete step was taken toward undoing the anti-faith policies of the Obama administration. While the Obama administration quarantined religious beliefs as if they are a plague — the Trump administration is restoring our First Freedom to where it’s belonged since the founding of our country.” — Tony Perkins, president, Family Research Council [a hate group whose leader has documented ties to white supremacy organizations]
“We commend President Trump for instructing Attorney General Jeff Sessions to send a strong message to the rest of America that religious freedom must be protected. The President has reversed the Obama-era policies and committed to protecting and promoting the religious freedom upon which this nation was founded. The Department of Justice must now vigorously enforce all Americans’ civil right of free exercise of religious liberty. This is an extremely positive step in the right direction.” — Mat Staver, founder and chairman, Liberty Counsel [a certified hate group]
“The American Family Association is heartened to see strong action taken on two issues that have long troubled those with closely held religious beliefs. No one should be forced to either pay for a service or perform a service that violates their faith. . . . . Tim Wildmon, president, American Family Association [a certified hate group]
“The story should be that this is a president who is truly committed to liberty. He is committed to America, and he is working to keep his word to the American people. That is incredibly honorable and noble.” — Penny Nance, president and CEO, Concerned Women for America [a certified hate group]
The guidance that the Trump administration issued today helps protect that First Amendment freedom. As CEO of the largest religious freedom legal organization in the world, I commend the president for taking another step to honor his campaign promise to make religious liberty his ‘first priority’ by directing the Department of Justice to issue this guidance, which simply directs the federal government to adhere to its legal and constitutional obligation to respect existing religious freedom protections.” — Michael Farris, president, CEO, and general counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom [a certified hate group]
When these hate groups and Christian dominionists are celebrating, decent Americans should be truly fearful. These groups and their leaders want nothing less than a white Christian theocracy. Be very afraid.
2 comments:
The decision in the US v. Reynolds stated that governmental law superceded the religious belief of Mormons regarding polygamy. This is the decision that should shoot down the claims of the AFA regarding the religious freedoms claims of Sessions et al.
The Reynolds decision decreed that the government has a right to control the actions of purportedly religious people in defiance of the law. The most relevant passage is this:
"Laws are made for the government of actions, and while they cannot interfere with mere religious belief and opinions, they may with practices. Suppose one believed that human sacrifices were a necessary part of religious worship, would it be seriously contended that the civil government under which he lived could not interfere to prevent a sacrifice? Or if a wife religiously believed it was her duty to burn herself upon the funeral pile of her dead husband, would it be beyond the power of the civil government to prevent her carrying her belief into practice?"
Thanks for the comment. Yes, there is case law that should allow the Trump/Sessions effort to be struck down. That said, having Gorsuch now on the Supreme Court is disturbing since he is a champion of this "religious liberty" batshitery. We lose one more justice and past precedent may be overruled.
Post a Comment