U.S. Senator James Inhofe has just introduced a federal version of the anti-gay laws currently flooding state legislatures.
U.S. Senator James Inhofe is known for being virulently anti-gay, and the world’s greatest climate change denier. Today, with the GOP holding a majority in both the House and the Senate, Inhofe is ironically the Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Environment, which gives him a large measure of control over the government’s ability to fight climate change – or to not.
In his role as a same-sex marriage opponent, Senator Inhofe hails from the great state of Oklahoma, where state anti-gay lawmakers like Joseph Silk have been making national headlines.
Back in 2006 (photos above and below), as the Senate was debating adding an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would ban same-sex marriage, Inhofe stood in front of a huge photo of his entire family and infamously uttered these words:
“My wife and I have been married 47 years. We have 20 kids and grandkids. I’m really proud to say that in the recorded history of our family, we’ve never had a divorce or any kind of homosexual relationship.”
You can actually watch him make that embarrassing declaration in the C-SPAN video at the top, starting at about the 8 minute mark.
Yesterday, Senator Inhofe joined the ranks of those who claim to be oppressed, or fear being oppressed, for merely living by their deeply held religious beliefs – to be anti-gay and to discriminate against LGBT people.
Inhofe introduced a federal version of a bill currently making its way around state legislatures, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The state versions mandate that no person or business shall be forced to serve anyone, as long as they can claim that doing so would violate their sincerely held religious beliefs.Â
Pharmacists who don’t want to issue contraception or HIV/AIDS medication? Covered. EMTs who don’t wish to help gay heart attack victims? Covered. Insurance sales agents who don’t wish to sell policies that include abortion coverage? Covered. And of course, bakers and florists who don’t wish to work with same-sex couples who are marrying? Covered.
Inhofe’s Amendment 381 “would seek to prevent the federal government from discriminating against individuals, businesses, or organizations based on their sincerely held religious beliefs regarding abortion or marriage.”
In a statement, the Oklahoma Senator attacked President Barack Obama as he positioned himself as a religious freedom savior.
“Under policies enacted by the Obama Administration, many religious organizations and individuals have grown concerned that they will be discriminated against by the federal government based on their religious beliefs,” Inhofe said in a statement on his website. “We watched this play out in the Hobby Lobby case, where the Obama Administration used its healthcare law to write a new moral code by telling David Green that he could not apply his faith conviction of when life begins to how he operates a private business. Thankfully, Hobby Lobby won their case in the Supreme Court and religious liberty was preserved, but this is not the end to the assault. My amendment helps to protect the constitutional right for an individual, business, or organization to peacefully and freely adhere to their religious beliefs.”
Inhofe’s amendment would be attached to the current Senate Budget Resolution, if it passes.
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Image: Screenshot via C-SPAN
Hat tip: Justin Snow at MetroWeekly
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