Religious Liberty Laws Slowly Eroding

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has passed a religious freedom law in response to the Supreme Courts decision granting same-sex couples the right to marry. Photo: Steve Baker | FlickrCC.

The Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn the same-sex marriage ban countrywide marks an impressive step forward both for LGBTQ individuals and for the progression of our nation as a whole. But the reversal of the former law has left tension among the states, and some of them, like Indiana and Arkansas, have passed “religious freedom” laws that many see as unfavorable, arguing that they directly target LGBTQ people with the intent to deny them constitutional rights. But more and more frequently, United States courts are ruling against companies or laws that seek to deny freedoms to gays and lesbians—which suggests that religious freedom laws overall, or anti-LGBTQ laws in any form, are on their way out.

An argument put to the Supreme Court by Ken Mehlman states that its signatories “concluded that there is no legitimate, fact-based reason for denying same-sex couples the same recognition in law that is available to opposite-sex couples,” and that under no circumstances should gay and lesbian individuals be subject to any law that discriminates against them. Increasingly, such laws that do victimize LGBTQ people are refusing to be heard by courts or denied altogether, though the 22 states that had previously banned same-sex marriage are now attempting to pass more regulations aimed at protecting religious freedom

Currently, forty-three percent of Americans live in a state with religious exemption laws. The original Religious Freedom Restoration act “may have been passed with good intentions,” says the Movement Advancement Project’s 2015 recent report, but “states’ ever-increasing roster of religious exemptions, both broad and targeted, raise serious concerns about how these vague exemptions are being used to harm others, interfere with law enforcement, and undermine the rule of law.” Despite some states’ efforts, however, sentiment regarding same-sex marriage is changing throughout the country, with 55% of Americans now in favor of it.

Changing attitudes likely mean changing laws to reflect that progressively positive outlook. Younger people tend to be more in favor of same-sex marriage, and as these young people grow up and begin to hold positions of power and raise like-minded children, the rate of approval for same-sex marriage is likely to grow. Religious freedom laws may have a more difficult time being passed and enacted. Because most people do not believe that businesses should have the right to discriminate against LGBTQ people, and if that sentiment fully possesses voters and lawmakers, discriminatory laws may soon be stopped before they even reach the floor for debate.

As the argument put to the Supreme Court says, “marriage is strengthened, and its value to society and to individual families and couples is promoted, by providing access to civil marriage for all American couples—heterosexual or gay or lesbian alike.”