LEXINGTON, KY— “The President’s executive order on religious freedom released today reminds us of the guy who remembered his wedding anniversary but brought his wife the last bouquet from the 7-11,” said a spokesman for The Family Foundation. “It’s nice that he thought about it, but it was a little disappointing.”
Martin Cothran, senior policy analyst for the group, points to campaign statements in which the President said that religious freedom would be his first priority. “This executive order leaves much of the Obama administration’s policy on religious freedom intact.”
“The order’s protections are there, but they are weak and vague,” said Cothran. The order acknowledges the free speech rights of churches and provides some regulatory relief regarding health care mandates that violate the right of religious conscience. But it does nothing for family run businesses that are being forced to endorse alternative views of marriage that go against their deeply held beliefs.
“The order does not address the most pressing religious freedom issues and settles instead for a few tepid changes that involve little political risk,” said Cothran.
Martin Cothran
Phone: (859)329-1919
