Religious freedom vs the 2nd Amendment – What do you think about this one?
With the recent win by Muslims who refused to deliver beer for religious reasons (MUSLIM MEN WIN BIG DISCRIMINATION SUIT Against Employer For Violating Religious Beliefs, While Nuns, Christian Bakers And City Clerks All Lose Cases) this case is also one to watch because it brings in the right to bear arms.
Lately, Americans have argued both about their right to bear arms and whether the free exercise of religion allows businesses and state officials to claim exemptions from requirements that conflict with their religious beliefs. It’s not everyday, however, that the two issues, guns and religion, wind up together in a single case.
In a suit that brings together the Second Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), an Amish man filed a federal lawsuit in Pennsylvania last week because he wants to buy a gun without the required photo ID — and because getting that photo ID would violate his religious beliefs.
Andrew Hertzler, according to the suit, is from Lancaster County, Pa., and is an “active and practicing” member of the community; his “parents, grandparents, and siblings are all active and practicing Amish”; and he “has a sincerely held religious belief that prevents him from knowingly and willingly having his photograph taken and stored.”
Read more: WaPo