Lankford Backing Religious Groups Fighting For Their Rights
Oklahoma Senator backs religious groups fighting for their religious rights
by Vanessa Garcia Rodriguez
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Christian Examiner) — Religious organizations are asking Congress to disapprove two new ordinances passed by Washington, D.C. City leaders that violate their rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, and they appear to have found a champion in Oklahoma’s newly elected Senator James Lankford.
Lankford (R), who co-chairs the Congressional Prayer Caucus, told CNS News Feb. 11 that Congress should, in fact, disapprove the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Act of 2014 signed into law by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser at the end of January. The local ordinance which would affect national organizations as well as local institutions based in the nation’s capital is currently undergoing a 30-day review before being sent to Congress.
According to the news report, D.C’s previous Mayor Vincent Gray had “significant legal concerns” about the law’s viability under the U.S. Constitution and the RFRA.
A Feb. 6 release from the Catholic News Service announced the religious groups drafted a letter to Congress urging them to disapprove the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Amendment Act which “prevents religious institutions, faith-based employers and pro-life advocacy organizations in the District of Columbia from making employment decisions consistent with “their sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions about the sanctity of human life.”
The black and white photo of Lankford walking through the capital echoes of “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” Don Quixote would be proud.