Many thanks to Natchez attorney Sam Gwin for his thoughtful letter to The Natchez Democrat and his common sense approach to the controversy surrounding HB1523.

The surprising thing about this bill is that so many otherwise intelligent people do not understand its very intent. Very few actually have read it (admittedly its long). Instead, they are influenced by misinformation from various sources — some no doubt well intentioned, others probably deliberately misconstruing it.

This law’s purpose is not to discriminate nor disrespect the dignity and rights of anyone for any reason. On the contrary, it is designed to protect the rights of those with sincere religious beliefs from being penalized by the state government for practicing their faith.

The Constitution is clear on this in the First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The free exercise clause prevents Congress from passing laws that prohibit individuals from freely practicing and exercising their religion.

Some are of the opinion that this law is not necessary. Two outstanding cases demonstrate why it is needed.

One is the Little Sisters of the Poor situation. These nuns, who dedicate their lives to caring for elderly poor people, are mandated by Obamacare to provide sterilization and abortion inducing drugs to all employees or be fined so severely that they can no longer serve those who need them.

Another case involves Catholic Charities of New York, an organization which has a long record of arranging successful adoptions following their faith’s guidelines of placing children in homes with both a mother and father who are married to each other. Of course, we all know of single parents or grandparents successfully rearing children, but it is generally accepted that the ideal situation for a child is a home with both father and mother.

Although there were ample secular adoption agencies available to those in other situations, New York law required Catholic Charities to place children with no restrictions so this charity was forced to no longer offer adoption services.

Closer to home, our area has a large number of faith-based hospitals. You can probably rattle off the names of some of the Catholic and Baptist hospitals in Mississippi and Louisiana. These institutions serve many patients including the very poor. If they should be forced to either perform abortions or close their doors it will be a serious loss for the entire community.

Our schools are also vulnerable. Hiring practices of our Catholic schools are in accordance with the teachings of the Catholic Church. Children of all faiths or no faith at all and of all sexual persuasions are all welcomed at the schools. These private schools should not be required by law to employ teaching staff members who do not conform to the church’s teachings.

This is why we need Religious Liberty laws. We ask only that our religious educational and service institutions be afforded the same protection from discrimination that is afforded to other groups, and hopefully a citizen can practice his faith without being forced to violate his conscience.

For a clear statement addressing these issues, I suggest you read the letter Bishop Joseph Kopacz, bishop of the Diocese of Jackson (which includes Natchez), has sent to members of the Mississippi legislature, which is available at www.jacksondiocese.org.

 

Virginia O’Beirne is a Natchez resident.