David Weigel: Wrong Side of History? ‘Democrats Are Endorsing Something More Radical Than Voters Are Comfortable With’
Posted: April 1, 2015 Filed under: Mediasphere, Politics, Religion | Tags: Barack Obama, David Weigel, Democratic Party (United States), First Amendment to the United States Constitution, Freedom of religion, George Stephanopoulos, Indiana, Josh Earnest, LGBT community, Mike Pence, Religious Freedom Restoration Act 1 Comment
David Weigel writes:
..it’s now expected for Democrats to denounce RFRAs, just as large corporations are denouncing them. In doing so, all of the critics are on the wrong side of public polling. According to a March edition of the Marist poll, 54 percent of Americans agreed with “allowing First Amendment religious liberty protection or exemptions for faith based organizations and individuals even when it conflicts with government laws.” By a two-point margin, 47-45, even a plurality of Democratic voters agreed with that.
The margins were even larger in opposition to laws that proposed “penalties or fines for individuals who refuse to provide wedding-related services to same sex couples even if their refusal is based on their religious beliefs.” No Democrat is seriously proposing this; the nearest cultural analogue may be the story of Memories Pizza, the Indiana shop whose owner said that he would decline to provide pies to gay weddings, and saw its Yelp! page firebombed with angry comments. (The popularity of delivery pizza at gay wedding ceremonials is well known.) Still, according to Marist, Americans oppose penalties on businesses like Memories by a 65-31 margin. The margin among Democrats: 62-34 against.
…Democrats are endorsing something more radical than voters are comfortable with. They’re betting on gay rights — the lens through which the RFRAs are being viewed — winning out. And that’s especially important for Clinton, who was on the “wrong side of history” on gay marriage until it became safe and practical to switch…(read more)
[Read the full text here, at Bloomberg Politics]
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