What is lost in this debate over SB 1062 is how far reaching this bill actually is. The bill serves to redefine the individual as a paper corporation and it extends all the protections and freedoms of the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States to non-carbon based lifeforms.
I kid you not.
The material capitalized is marked in blue–indicating amendment or other significant change to the existing 1999 law on the books. “”Exercise of religion” means the PRACTICE OR OBSERVANCE OF RELIGION, INCLUDING THE ability to act or refusal to act in a manner substantially motivated by a religious belief, whether or not the exercise is compulsory or central to a larger system of religious belief.”The bill goes on to add, “”Person” includes a religious assembly or institution ANY INDIVIDUAL, ASSOCIATION, PARTNERSHIP, CORPORATION, CHURCH, RELIGIOUS ASSEMBLY OR INSTITUTION OR OTHER BUSINESS ORGANIZATION.”
While the media storm focuses on the idea of this being a Gay Rights bill, the facts as they are laid out above are far more sinister. This is a bill that enhances religious freedom or, in a sense, enables people to impose their religion on others in a significant way. It allows individuals to use their corporations as a tool to advance their ideology. I could, for example, decide to purchase a mall and then decide that allowing persons of a faith not aligned with my own are to be excluded from that mall. I can do that same thing with land, or schools, etc.
Here is the key: anything deemed to be “practice or observation of religion” would be protected–not just for individuals but for companies as well. It does what several other laws as of late have done: It confers humanity on corporations. Yep, here in 2014 we are just a few steps from turning into a full blown Shadowrun society, minus the magic (maybe).
I love that I am free to have any faith I choose, however, I don’t agree that I should be free to segregate others as it serves my faith. In truth, faith should be a deeply personal thing that you impose/embrace yourself as opposed to imposing on others. In a state where the majority of people are part of a highly organized and powerful (and somewhat secretive) religious group, a law that makes any business they control reflective of the religious individual is scary. This particular group had restrictive racial policies until 1978 and still has very restrictive gender policies, as most religions do. So while we are concerned about the sexual rights of some, we should also be concerned about the rights of women who, largely repressed by religion, may quickly discover that businesses now have the right to treat them as the bible sometimes does: Badly.