Republicans in Michigan House pass religious bigotry bill

Cory Doctorow 3:00 pm Mon Dec 8, 2014

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, passed by the Republicans in the Michigan House of Reps, follows the same contours as the Arizona pro-bigotry law that ~~Obama~~ Governor Janet Brewer vetoed: it allows shopkeepers to discriminate against people they don't like if they claim their religion demands it.

For example, pharmacists can refuse to dispense contraception and HIV meds and EMTs can refuse to take gay people to the hospital. Days later, a bill prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexuality was voted down by the same house.

The legalize-bigotry law has to pass the Michigan senate and be signed by the state's governor before it's law.

Michigan Speaker Bolger fast-tracked the bill, which passed on partisan lines, 59-50. It now heads to the Michigan Senate, and if successful, to Republican Governor Rick Snyder. It is not known if Gov. Snyder would sign it.

“I support individual liberty and I support religious freedom,” Bolger said today. “I have been horrified as some have claimed that a person’s faith should only be practiced while hiding in their home or in their church.”

Breaking: Michigan House Passes Religious 'License To Discriminate' Bill
[David Badash/The New Civil Rights Movement]

(via Sean Bonner)

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