One thing about these so-called religious freedom bills popping up is how their supporters attempt to make them sound reasonable when they aren't.
This is how the fake news source, One News Now, described one in Texas:
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R-Texas) is pressing forward with a new bill that would protect the religious rights of Texans when threatened by LGBTQ activists seeking privileges in the name of “civil rights,” inclusion, and so-called “nondiscrimination.” . . . “The bill would allow state license holders like lawyers, health care professionals and counselors to serve clients based on their religious beliefs without any adverse actions from licensing boards,” CBN News reported.
It sounds justified except for when one gets past the rhetorical nonsense. And there is a simple way to do this. Substitute other racial and ethnic groups for the phrase "LGBTQ activists."
1.Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R-Texas) is pressing forward with a new bill that would protect the religious rights of Texans when threatened by African-Americans seeking privileges in the name of “civil rights,” inclusion, and so-called “nondiscrimination.” . . . “The bill would allow state license holders like lawyers, health care professionals and counselors to serve clients based on their religious beliefs without any adverse actions from licensing boards,” CBN News reported.
2. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R-Texas) is pressing forward with a new bill that would protect the religious rights of Texans when threatened by people of the Jewish faith seeking privileges in the name of “civil rights,” inclusion, and so-called “nondiscrimination.” . . . “The bill would allow state license holders like lawyers, health care professionals and counselors to serve clients based on their religious beliefs without any adverse actions from licensing boards,” CBN News reported.
3. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R-Texas) is pressing forward with a new bill that would protect the religious rights of Texans when threatened by interracial couples seeking privileges in the name of “civil rights,” inclusion, and so-called “nondiscrimination.” . . . “The bill would allow state license holders like lawyers, health care professionals and counselors to serve clients based on their religious beliefs without any adverse actions from licensing boards,” CBN News reported.
4. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R-Texas) is pressing forward with a new bill that would protect the religious rights of Texans when threatened by Muslims seeking privileges in the name of “civil rights,” inclusion, and so-called “nondiscrimination.” . . . “The bill would allow state license holders like lawyers, health care professionals and counselors to serve clients based on their religious beliefs without any adverse actions from licensing boards,” CBN News reported.
If it bothers you when other groups are substituted for "LGBTQ activists," then shouldn't it bother you that "LGBTQ activists" (which is anti-LGBT industry code phrasing for LGBTQ people in general) are the prime group targeted by these bills in the first place?
Claiming that these laws merely protect people's "rights" to serve clients based on their religious beliefs without any adverse actions is a clever deception which doesn't answer a key question. What if a person's religious beliefs dictate that African-Americans are inferior? Or that interracial couples are sinful? Or that Muslims or Jewish people shouldn't be treated the same as Christians? Or vice versa?
It's not by accident that the supporters of these "religious freedom" bills tend to avoid these questions.
Related post - Texas Republicans advance a bill that would allow doctors to refuse LGBTQ patients
