Thursday, July 2, 2015

Poking Fun at RFRA

It's hard to know where to begin on this topic -- that Indiana expended so much energy (and taxpayer money) on promoting intolerance with the whole Religious Freedom Restoration Act brouhaha or that the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department expended so much energy (and taxpayer money) on keeping a bunch of folks from lighting up at the Church of Cannabis.

Yes, The New York Times is making fun of Indiana once again. This time with coverage of A Church of Cannabis Tests Limits of Religious Law in Indiana. With the homicide rate (and police-action shootings) on the rise, where were our police officers? Surrounding an Eastside church.

"Lt. Richard Riddle of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police declined to say exactly how many officers were at the church, but there were officers outside, posted on nearby corners, behind the church, and riding in pairs on bicycles," reports the NYT

A peaceful assemblage of citizens (at which no arrests were made) required such a large contingent of Indianapolis' Finest? Really?

The Church of Cannabis is, of course, but one unintended consequence of RFRA. The Indiana Civil Liberties Union has now filed suit to contend that not allowing sex offenders to attend churches with attached schools is an undue burden on religious rights under the RFRA.

What's next?

1 comment:

Paul K. Ogden said...

RFRA is in 31 states and at the national level so these "unintended consequences" could have happened about anywhere. Of course, anyone can misrepresent a law for their own purposes. Neither Levin's fake church or the ACLU's efforts are likely to succeed.