Progressive Groups Ask Obama to End Bush-Era Religious Protection

Obama asked to reverse legal memo providing exemption to nondiscrimination laws for religious groups seeking federal grants. The letter, provided exclusively to BuzzFeed News, is signed by 130 civil rights and other groups

By Published on August 21, 2015

130 civil rights and religious organizations, unions, and other progressive groups sent a letter to President Obama urging that he direct the Justice Department to reverse a Bush-era legal opinion about the scope of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The 2007 memo from the Office of Legal Counsel concluded that, under RFRA, religious organizations seeking federal grants could not be forced to adhere to religious nondiscrimination laws in hiring.

The 130 organizations — including the ACLU, Anti-Defamation League, Human Rights Campaign, NAACP, and Planned Parenthood — counter in their letter to Obama that the opinion “relies on flawed legal analysis” that RFRA “provides a blanket override of a statutory non-discrimination provision.” A copy of the letter was provided to BuzzFeed News.

Read the article “Progressive Groups Ask Obama to End Bush-Era Religious Protection” on buzzfeed.com.

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