<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Courtesy of today's (February 14, 2014) Lewiston Tribune with thanks to Brian Wolf.</div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">-----------------------------------</div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></div><div><div class="encrypted-content" style="outline: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><p style="outline: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b>Out of Touch</b></span></p><p style="outline: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Romans 2:11 says "For God shows no partiality" but evidently some Idaho politicians do. The groundswell in citizen opposition in Boise to House Bill 427, the so called "Religious Freedom Bill," shows just how far out of step many lawmakers are with so many Idahoans.</span></p></div><div class="encrypted-content" style="outline: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><p style="outline: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The bill does nothing to advance "religious freedom," which is already enshrined in the First Amendment. What this bill does do is sanction the discrimination against the LGBT community as well as any other group a religion may deem as "immoral."</span></p></div><div class="encrypted-content" style="outline: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><p style="outline: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The bill is especially worrisome in that it aims to impose a moral code or religious law within the interpretation of state laws. What religious decrees does it endorse or ignore? Will a Protestant teacher be able to refuse instruction to Catholic students? Will a Muslim businessman be able to refuse service to a woman unaccompanied by a man? Does a physician who is a devout Christian get to deny treatment to a person who has remarried after a divorce? The problem with laws such as HB 427 is that it is impossible to say where the law begins and ends without singling out or favoring one group over another. These laws are inherently unjust, open to costly court challenges and represent a net expansion of government.</span></p></div><div class="encrypted-content" style="outline: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><p style="outline: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Freedom of, as well as from, religion is an important part of the fabric of our state. Nobody has the right to impose a religious decree on others, be it through Sharia law or through HB 427.</span></p><p style="outline: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Brian Wolf, Moscow</span></p></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">-----------------------------------</div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)</span></div><div><a href="http://www.moscowcares.com/" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000">http://www.MoscowCares.com</font></a></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tom Hansen</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Moscow, Idaho</span></div></div><div><br></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div></div></body></html>