First up from the God Machine this week is a fresh look at a stale problem: so-called “religious liberty” proposals at the state level intended to accommodate anti-gay discrimination.  Last year, following the Supreme Court’s ruling bringing marriage equality to the entire country, several states took up measures to allow businesses and public agencies to deny services to same-sex couples on the basis of religious belief. Indiana had one of the highest profile fights, which generated international attention.  At least 105 bills were filed so far this year, more than double the number in 2015, according to data from the American Civil Liberties Union.  None of this year’s bills have become law – most legislative sessions are still in full swing – but bills in eight states have picked up momentum, from Oklahoma to Georgia. Several have passed out of committee, while others have passed out of the full house or senate.  While some of these measures are mild enough to be effectively meaningless – the article notes a proposal in Florida that “affirms” the right of houses of worship not to wed same-sex couples, a right that was unaffected by last year’s court ruling – the BuzzFeed piece also highlighted a variety of more aggressive bills, including a Georgia proposal that would “give individuals a legal defense if they refuse service based on a religious objection” and a Mississippi bill that intends to “protect someone who denies marriage-related goods or declines non-emergency medical services to a transgender person.”  Eunice Rho, advocacy and policy counsel for the ACLU, was quoted as saying, “The pattern is crystal clear. These bills are all aimed at chipping away at the rights of LGBT people under the false guises of freedom and safety.”  Also from the God Machine this week:
Once marriage equality was the law of the land, so-called "religious liberty" proposals proliferated at the state level. This year, they're back.