According to two conservative lobbying groups, second-class citizens = not being able to discriminate against others
The state of Indiana has come under a lot of heat over the past year for their lack of discrimination protections for the LGBT community. Oddly enough, the Hoosier state is now receiving heat from a pair of conservative lobbying groups who believe the before-mentioned discrimination protections (RFRA) are too strong. That's right; the Indiana Family Institute and American Family Association of Indiana filed a lawsuit claiming the state's LGBT protections threaten their religious freedom, even going so far as to say the protections result in Christians being treated like "second-class citizens."
No, I'm not making this up. Indiana Family Institute President Curt Smith elaborated on the matter, saying, "The 'fix' makes people of faith second-class citizens. Freedom is not fixed, finite commodity which the Legislature reapportions from time to time between and among the now-favored groups. Freedom must be first preserved and then, as possible, expanded equally for all."
Please allow yourself some time to let that all sink in... :: grabs myself some lunch, before watching Gone With the Wind and reading War & Peace ::
Okay, I'm back... So let me get this straight - these Christian conservatives feel like "second-class citizens" for not being allowed to discriminate against a particular demographic, a demographic which still lacks equal rights under the law in many states, including Indiana, and have been regularly treated like "second-class citizens;" is that right?
The definition of second-class citizen is "a person who is systematically discriminated against within a state of other political jurisdiction, despite their nominal status as a citizen or legal resident there."
In other words, the Indiana Family Institute and American Family Association of Indiana are saying unless it again becomes legal for them to be able to treat the LGBT community like second-class citizens through discrimination, they themselves are second-class citizens. With that (lack of) rationale, do these organizations then believe women fighting for equality resulted in men becoming second-class citizens? Do they feel blacks fighting for equality resulted in whites becoming second-class citizens? What about Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, and Muslims? Did their fight for equality result in Christians becoming second-class citizens? How twisted is that logic? The Indiana Family Institute and American Family Association are free to believe homosexuality is a sin, are free to speak their mind about the matter outside of the workplace, and are free to pray for and/or condemn such individuals, but just as it's illegal to discriminate against people based on their gender, race, or creed at the workplace, it should be illegal to discriminate against someone because of their sexual orientation. Christian conservatives, like those within the Indiana Family Institute and American Family Association of Indiana, are seeking superiority in the eyes of the law, to be able to legally treat others like second-class citizens, and make them feel of greater importance in the process. The LGBT community, like so many other groups before it, is simply seeking equality. If a group feels they lack equality due to not being able to legally discriminate against another and feels like second-class citizens due to this, they've lost sight of what equality is, and have taken for granted what others lack and are fighting for with every last breath.
http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2015/12/10/conservative-groups-lawsuit-says-rfra-fix-unconstitutional/77102680/?from=global&sessionKey=&autologin=
No, I'm not making this up. Indiana Family Institute President Curt Smith elaborated on the matter, saying, "The 'fix' makes people of faith second-class citizens. Freedom is not fixed, finite commodity which the Legislature reapportions from time to time between and among the now-favored groups. Freedom must be first preserved and then, as possible, expanded equally for all."
Please allow yourself some time to let that all sink in... :: grabs myself some lunch, before watching Gone With the Wind and reading War & Peace ::
Okay, I'm back... So let me get this straight - these Christian conservatives feel like "second-class citizens" for not being allowed to discriminate against a particular demographic, a demographic which still lacks equal rights under the law in many states, including Indiana, and have been regularly treated like "second-class citizens;" is that right?
The definition of second-class citizen is "a person who is systematically discriminated against within a state of other political jurisdiction, despite their nominal status as a citizen or legal resident there."
In other words, the Indiana Family Institute and American Family Association of Indiana are saying unless it again becomes legal for them to be able to treat the LGBT community like second-class citizens through discrimination, they themselves are second-class citizens. With that (lack of) rationale, do these organizations then believe women fighting for equality resulted in men becoming second-class citizens? Do they feel blacks fighting for equality resulted in whites becoming second-class citizens? What about Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, and Muslims? Did their fight for equality result in Christians becoming second-class citizens? How twisted is that logic? The Indiana Family Institute and American Family Association are free to believe homosexuality is a sin, are free to speak their mind about the matter outside of the workplace, and are free to pray for and/or condemn such individuals, but just as it's illegal to discriminate against people based on their gender, race, or creed at the workplace, it should be illegal to discriminate against someone because of their sexual orientation. Christian conservatives, like those within the Indiana Family Institute and American Family Association of Indiana, are seeking superiority in the eyes of the law, to be able to legally treat others like second-class citizens, and make them feel of greater importance in the process. The LGBT community, like so many other groups before it, is simply seeking equality. If a group feels they lack equality due to not being able to legally discriminate against another and feels like second-class citizens due to this, they've lost sight of what equality is, and have taken for granted what others lack and are fighting for with every last breath.
http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2015/12/10/conservative-groups-lawsuit-says-rfra-fix-unconstitutional/77102680/?from=global&sessionKey=&autologin=
Comments
Post a Comment