By Sabrina Samone, TMP
Last week, Indiana, passed the Religious Freedom Act. A law that has given many to openly discriminate against TBLG persons. While many protest the latest law in Indiana, many are unaware that a similar law has already been in place for sometime in South Carolina.
According to the Post and Courier, South Carolina is the only state, other than Indiana, with a law that explicitly gives religious protections to businesses. Raising concerns that it could be used to defend discrimination against gays, lesbians, and transgender people. Beth Littrell, a senior attorney in Atlanta for advocacy group Lambda Legal, said South Carolina’s law was “murkier” than Indiana’s, but that it could have the same effect that activists there fear, depending on how it’s interpreted by the courts in S.C.
Currently the ACLU, is unaware of any use of the law to discriminate in this state, as of yet. While many state political analyst have been mulling over the differences of the two laws, many have come to agree that while South Carolina's is not fair by any means, it is far less dangerous than the one Indiana has just imposed. Yet, at the core of the two laws, they basically are the same. The difference is that no such blatant discrimination has been produced from it, but the law is there to protect it if it should arise.
South Carolina's Religious Freedom Law has been in place since 1997, with little if no opposition from the LGBT communities. Many feel, with the recent protest in Indiana, it is now time to re address this law and dismantle it. According to a recent poll in the Post and Courier, 56% of online readers stated that yes, it should never have been established in the first place; To the question, should South Carolina re-evaluate its religious freedom law that was put on the books in 1997?
South Carolina's Religious Freedom Act VS Indiana's Religious Freedom Act
According to the Post and Courier, South Carolina is the only state, other than Indiana, with a law that explicitly gives religious protections to businesses. Raising concerns that it could be used to defend discrimination against gays, lesbians, and transgender people. Beth Littrell, a senior attorney in Atlanta for advocacy group Lambda Legal, said South Carolina’s law was “murkier” than Indiana’s, but that it could have the same effect that activists there fear, depending on how it’s interpreted by the courts in S.C.
Currently the ACLU, is unaware of any use of the law to discriminate in this state, as of yet. While many state political analyst have been mulling over the differences of the two laws, many have come to agree that while South Carolina's is not fair by any means, it is far less dangerous than the one Indiana has just imposed. Yet, at the core of the two laws, they basically are the same. The difference is that no such blatant discrimination has been produced from it, but the law is there to protect it if it should arise.
South Carolina's Religious Freedom Law has been in place since 1997, with little if no opposition from the LGBT communities. Many feel, with the recent protest in Indiana, it is now time to re address this law and dismantle it. According to a recent poll in the Post and Courier, 56% of online readers stated that yes, it should never have been established in the first place; To the question, should South Carolina re-evaluate its religious freedom law that was put on the books in 1997?South Carolina's Religious Freedom Act VS Indiana's Religious Freedom Act
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