Religious Right Aims to Change Florida Constitution

Image via Wikipedia

While we are all celebrating our nation’s birthday the religious right are plotting the theocratization of the state of Florida.

Bill CS/HJR 1471 Was signed and submitted to the secretary of state on 7/1/2011.

JOINT RESOLUTION by Judiciary Committee; Plakon; Precourt; (CO-INTRODUCERS) Adkins; Ahern; Baxley; Bileca; Burgin; Coley; Corcoran; Costello; Drake; Ford; Gaetz; McKeel; Metz; Perry; Renuart; Snyder; Tobia; Van Zant; Weatherford

Religious Freedom; Proposes amendment to s. 3, Art. I of State Constitution to provide that, consistent with U.S. Constitution, no individual or entity may be denied, on basis of religious identity or belief, governmental benefits, funding, or other support, & to delete prohibition against using revenues from public treasury directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution.

This proposed Amendment to the Florida Constitution is an end run to directly funding religious schools with taxpayer money. This bill will also open up funding of religious based hospitals and other religious charities and organizations directly from taxpayer coffers.

The religious right display a cognitive dissonance that does not enable them to see their own hypocrisy.

Why is it that the religious can scream they don’t want their tax dollars going to Planned Parenthood, but the non-religious have no say in whether or not their tax payer dollars will go to the funding of teaching mythological beliefs as reality?

Why is it the Tea Party can scream they don’t want their tax dollars going to aid the poor in the forms of Medicaid and WIC, yet they see no problem in tax dollars going to religious groups instead?

How come a religious state which is never in the best interests of its citizens (there are plenty of examples out there, Iran and Saudi Arabia anyone?) is ok but a secular state with loftier goals of improving the lives of all is not?

Here is the irony in this whole thing.

This bill will constitutionally grant that tax dollars can go to funding Muslim schools.

Now ain’t that a hoot?

Now if I were to start an email campaign that says,

Florida Lawmakers seek to fund Muslim schools with your tax dollars!!!!

How fast do you think this bill will be rejected?

Start sending those emails!!!!!

Related articles

• Florida Folly: Constitutional change would harm religious liberty, clergy say (secularnewsdaily.com)
• Indiana, Florida continue on anti-choice crusade (newblackwoman.com)