http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MO2iiovYq70

 

Where is Joseph Welch when we need him?

He was the bookish general counsel for the U.S. Army who famously brought the end to U.S. Senator Joe McCarthy’s steady diet of demagoguery, reckless accusations, and unsubstantiated accusations as part of his chilling, life-destroying campaign of anti-Communist witch hunting.

Mr. Welch famously brought down Senator McCarthy with an indignant response that ended with a question.  He asked: “Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?”

Today, it’s a question that he could have put to Tennessee Senator Brian Kelsey, who continues his own campaign of extremism, this time with a bill that absolves businesses from lawsuits if they refuse services and goods to same-sex couples “if doing so would violate sincerely held religious beliefs.”

It’s the sort of legislation that would bring smiles to the faces of Vladimir Putin and Russian politicians.

Freedom To Be Intolerant

Mr. Kelsey cloaks his zealotry behind a title that is a dog whistle to the extreme right: the “Religious Freedom Act.”  That it is so patently illegal – not to mention immoral – on its face does little to dissuade him from using the Bible yet again as a weapon to bludgeon others (most of whom are Christians too).

That said, the fact that Mr. Kelsey pursues his intolerant agenda says much more about his political opportunism than his religion.  Over the years, he has established a well-deserved reputation for being willing to stake out positions that are hurtful and mean-spirited in pursuit of his own political ambitions.

This idiotic bill is just the latest example, and it is written so broadly as to be unenforceable.  We presume that Mr. Kelsey’s bill will put a motel owner in the position of discerning if two male friends who say they are on a hunting trip to a small town in West Tennessee are more than just friends and the businessman can decide if they are really celebrating their love of hunting or their love of each other.

More Questions Than Answers

If Mr. Kelsey is sincere when he takes on the mantle of defending religion, why does he only apply his protections to businesses who don’t want to treat same-sex couples fairly and equally?  How about protecting a religious belief that leads someone to believe that divorce is Biblically forbidden?  Or can someone who knows that a couple has committed adultery refuse to serve them because of his religious beliefs?

And what if a doctor refuses to provide medical care to half of a same-sex couple and that person dies?  Is Mr. Kelsey really suggesting that the state should pass a law that indemnifies the doctor from being sued for negligence?

It is nothing short of remarkable to see these part-time Tennessee legislators inject their narrow political views into issues that fundamentally deny some Tennesseeans equal protection under the law and freedom from government-led discrimination.  It’s the modern equivalent of Jim Crow laws but today aimed at the LGBT community.

Allegedly a small government conservative, it would seem that Mr. Kelsey would be cautious in exercising the power of his office to interfere in personal rights and governmental responsibilities. But he has repeatedly shown that he is willing to vilify minorities – whether urban school students or same sex couples – and to overturn policies like the living wage ordinance approved by the duly elected government of the people of Memphis.

Keep The Faith

We probably shouldn’t be too unkind to Mr. Kelsey because he is just one of many when it comes to the extremists who have commandeered the one proud Tennessee Republican Party.  There is little wonder that the Tennessee Legislature has been recognized as the worst in the U.S. for its anti-gay, anti-science, pro-bullying, pro-gun, and anti-women proposals.

These days, there is no decision that is too personal or too private that legislators aren’t willing to inject themselves into it: women making decisions about their reproductive rights, teachers who want to teach real science, families of gay children worried about bullying, employers who want safe work sites, and families who see their homes and places of worship as the best places to teach religious beliefs.

And contrary to what Mr. Kelsey apparently believes, many people of faith are not driven by a desire to punish anyone who is not like them and understand that their religious teachings require us to them to care for the poor rather than advocate cuts in vital services, to fight for fairness for middle class families in the state tax system, and to teach their children to the richness that comes from appreciating the full diversity of the world they live in.