Religious Freedom Act Reaction
Alabama is in the process of passing a Religious Freedom Act. It would keep ministers and judges from performing marriages that go against their moral and religious beliefs.
Last week, Indiana’s governor signed a similar bill into law that would allow businesses and individuals to refuse services for same sex couples because of religious beliefs.
But political analyst Steve Flowers says he doesn’t think it means much.
“Quite frankly I think it’s political. I think right now if you are a minister or even a probate judge, they’ve got the right to decide if they are going to marry someone or not, so the act really is superfluous, doesn’t really mean anything, doesn’t do anything,” said Flowers.
Flowers says a similar law in Alabama may even invite more legal battles for the state.
“It may be a red flag to some liberal group like the ACLU or SPLC. They may say if we are going to pass a law like that, we’ll show you it’s unconstitutional too. Then we go trapsing into court again, got to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars the general fund doesn’t have,” said Flowers.
Alabama’s Freedom of Religion bill will next go to state Senate for debate.
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