Stop discriminatory ‘religious liberty’ measure from harming Missouri
About this time last year, the governor of Indiana signed a bill called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
It was similar to a measure currently under consideration in the Missouri General Assembly. Conservative lawmakers in both states sought to empower businesses to deny services to same-sex couples couples without fear of penalties.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed the bill on March 26, 2016.
In short order, the National Collegiate Athletic Association threatened to cancel future tournaments in the state. Salesforce, a cloud computing company, said it would scale back its investment in Indiana. Angie’s List halted plans for a $40 million expansion of its Indianapolis headquarters. Kiwanis International reported that bookings for an upcoming convention were falling off quickly.
After a week, a national “boycott Indiana” movement was in full flower. The state’s largest newspaper, the Indianapolis Star, printed a front-page editorial headlined “Fix This Now.”
The legislature did. It amended its law to uphold the concept of religious freedom but made it clear the legislation cannot be used to discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Pence signed the fix.
Even so, the damage was substantial. Indianapolis meeting planners have told Kansas City officials the city lost $75 million in business because of the bill. And they blame the uproar for a 50 percent drop in inquiries since then.
Missouri does not want to go that route. And so we join with businesses, meeting planners, chambers of commerce and people of good will throughout the state in an appeal to leaders of the Missouri House:
Stop this now.
Do not allow Senate Joint Resolution 39 to go to the House floor in its current form. Because if it is approved, it will not travel to Gov. Jay Nixon’s office.
Instead, it would go straight to a statewide ballot later this year, where it would surely divide citizens and draw out a strain of bigotry for the world to see. Should it pass, it would become an amendment to Missouri’s Constitution and would require another ballot question to be fixed.
The economic and emotional damage to the state would be gargantuan.
SJR 39 seeks to protect individuals and businesses that cite religious beliefs as a reason to refuse commercial services to same-sex couples. The law specifically mentions wedding services, like cake decorating and flower arrangements, but can also be interpreted to include housing, adoption and health care services.
Rep. Sheila Solon, a Republican from Blue Springs, pointed out that Missouri already has statutes that protect religious freedom.
“I guess I don’t understand the necessity for this resolution,” Solon said. In fact, she added that she thought SJR 39 actually weakens the existing religious freedom laws by carving out certain groups for protection, rather than assuring religious freedom to everyone.
Solon’s concerns are encouraging. They indicate at least some bipartisan opposition exists in the House to a resolution promoted by conservative Republicans.
She also makes the excellent point that the legislature isn’t making much progress on ethics bills, a funding source for road repairs and Missouri’s noncompliance with the federal Real ID law.
“There are a lot of things we’re not going to get done this year because we’re working on cakes,” Solon said.
If instances have been recorded in Missouri of bakeries balking at having to serve same-sex couples, or losing lawsuits over the issue, we’ve missed them.
SJR 39, sponsored by GOP Sen. Bob Onder of St. Louis County, is a backlash against last year’s Supreme Court amendment legalizing same-sex marriage. It’s a favor to outside groups that want to pass discriminatory “religious liberties” bills nationwide.
It doesn’t solve a problem for Missouri and if passed it will assuredly do great harm.
Stop this now.
This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 3:00 PM with the headline "Stop discriminatory ‘religious liberty’ measure from harming Missouri."