Wyoming bill would allow Christians to discriminate, sue over ‘oppression’ of gay marriage

Wyoming Republican state Rep. Nathan Winters has filed a bill to stop the “oppression” of county clerks that began last year when the state Supreme Court ordered them to begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses.
According to the Casper Star-Tribune, House Bill 83 — also known as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act — would allow county clerks or anyone else to withhold services from gay people if it conflicted with their religious beliefs.
The bill authorizes “defenses against governmental action that burden religious freedom.” And it states that anyone will a “sincerely held religious belief” cannot be punished in any way for refusing to perform an act unless it is “essential to further a compelling government interest.”

If a person feels that their religious freedom has been infringed upon, the bill would give them the right to “obtain appropriate relief” from the government or from government officials.
Winters, who is also a pastor, insisted that the bill would not just apply to LGBT rights, but he could not provide any other examples to the Star-Tribune.
He said that the important thing was that people would be “free from oppression of government if they choose to exercise freedom of conscience.”



http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/01/wyoming-bill-would-allow-christians-to-discriminate-sue-over-oppression-of-gay-marriage/

I have been saying...the constitutional prohibition on religious constraints will be the undoing of a lot of other constitutional provisions. You can turn any principle into a religious tenet: for example, Mormons believe that in God's mandate to procreate they have not just a justification, but a dictate to have sex with 12- and 13-year old girls. And y'all thought paedophilia was universally wrong.

COULD BE a bit of "double edged sword" for some of those conservative nutjobs in those more anal and redneck States over there like Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, Texas and Florida...

WHAT IF a few of the more pacifist and community-minded groups (e.g. Buddhists, Franciscan monks, Sisters of Mercy, Parents for Gun Control, the Civil Liberties Union..) choose to complain on equal rights grounds at some future date, that the Republicans proclivity toward relaxed gun laws, perverted 'self defence' provisions, 'concealed carry' and even 'open carry' rights, may in turn  "..feel that their religious freedom has been infringed upon, the bill would give them the right to “obtain appropriate relief” from the government or from government officials.", and further more may also 'infringe' on their fair expectations of a relatively peaceful and quite existence..

MAYHAP then those state guvm'nts may just find out that the potential financial costs to their budgets from such arrant loopiness will be quite serious ?