John Burris: In Hindsight, The RFRA Law Was Needed

I’d forgotten I was upset with the City of Little Rock. Then one morning last week, driving through downtown, I saw the beautiful bridges crossing the Arkansas River.

It reminded me of when, a few weeks ago, someone in our capital city made the decision to make a political statement with public taxpayer dollars, illuminating our bridges in rainbow lights in celebration of the Supreme Court’s nullification of state bans on gay marriage.

Then I remembered the time our Legislature acted with extreme clarity and forethought by passing a Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). Sponsored by Rep. Bob Ballinger, it now proves very relevant as a result of the policy change the City of Little Rock was celebrating.

One body of government acted responsibly. The other proved why protections from government are necessary.

When the Supreme Court ruled gay marriage to be legal in all 50 states, people exercised their individual rights and celebrated in various ways.

Then there was the White House and the City of Little Rock, where politicians – apparently discontent to celebrate individually – decided to speak for every person who pays for the public grounds officials merely manage. Both changed the lighting on their structures to reflect a rainbow, the promoted sign of the gay rights movement.

The White House rainbow trended on Twitter. In Little Rock, local liberals were likely toasting in Hillcrest. It’s frustrating, though. Trendy political statements on divisive issues are so commonly acceptable, yet reverence to basic teachings like the 10 Commandments is not.

In Oklahoma, the state Supreme Court has ordered a statue of the Old Testament law be removed from the Capitol grounds.

In Arkansas, State Senator Jason Rapert sponsored legislation to allow a similar monument to be built with private funding. Liberals have scoffed, and, if Sen. Rapert gets his way, a Satanist group has threatened to build a comic-book version of a false god in response. They’re so clever.

This, in a nutshell, is the status of our political dialogue in America. Basic religious teachings are banned from public grounds, while new social norms that contradict most religious teachings are celebrated in a rub-their-face-in-it kind of way.

There are court rulings and laws passed regularly, none of which earn acknowledgement from city government. They celebrated the one they wanted to, which is what makes it a political statement. Just let the bridge be a bridge, rather than imposing it with a political position.

Regardless, the Court’s ruling on gay marriage is what makes the RFRA legislation from the 90th General Assembly so important. The law now protects individuals from the government substantially burdening the practice of a sincerely held religious belief. It usually has been applied to religious minorities, like allowing Native Americans to smoke ceremonial natural herbs the FDA would normally classify as illegal.

Sometimes, it can be more mainstream. The institution of marriage – and the ceremony that often comes with it – is considered a sincere practice of religion. Arkansas business owners should not be compelled by the state to engage in commerce supporting a marriage ceremony with which they do not agree. A RFRA protects that right.

It’s not about a cup of coffee. It’s not about discrimination against homosexuals. It’s only about giving an individual the right to observe religious beliefs in a way that harms no one else.

In Arkansas, a majority of the Legislature fought against the barrage of a national media circus and passed a RFRA, in anticipation of the Court’s ruling. It was measured and many members deserve credit.

Oftentimes, success is mostly perceived by how it’s defined. Do it boldly, and others will believe it. If anything, there hasn’t been enough “patting on the back” by conservatives after the ruling.

Instead of fighting over who could criticize the Court most harshly, we could have held a press conference and said, “see, we told you we needed to do that thing that got us attacked by so many. Aren’t you glad we’re alert at the wheel? Dang Obama and his liberal judges.” Sometimes we just lose, but the damage can be mitigated.

That’s what the Legislature did by passing a RFRA. Religious protections are now clarified against an over-zealous government.

The City of Little Rock, albeit in a mostly symbolic way, proved governments can be disinterested in the sincere religious beliefs of others. The protection is needed.

Forward-thinking policy making is what we need more of. Reactionary political speech with public dollars is just another part of the problem.