Muslim group concerned over free speech rights if LGBTQ rights bill passes
The Counsel of American Islamic Relations told Fox News Digital that an LGBTQ rights bill is likely 'unconstitutional' due to its encroachment on religious freedom.
A Muslim advocacy group told Fox News Digital that an LGBTQ rights bill in Michigan is likely "unconstitutional" due to its encroachment on religious freedom.
The Counsel of American Islamic Relations [CAIR] launched a petition urging lawmakers to add religious protections to proposed amendments to the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA), which seeks to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
The ELCRA has provided protections for Michiganders based on religion, race, sex and other demographics since 1976. LGBTQ advocates have been pushing to be included in the bill for years to ensure they don't face discrimination.
Muslims attend a town hall meeting by the Council on American-Islamic Relations at the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia, on March 17, 2017. (PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty Images)
However, while expanding the rights for LGBTQ members, the bill could remove protections for faith-based organizations that believe marriage is between one man and one woman, or biological differences between men and women.
"CAIR Michigan believes along with some other religious groups that have done the policy and the legal research that there are provisions of this bill that could be struck down as unconstitutional including that provision that requires that covenant," CAIR-MI Staff Attorney Amy Doukoure told Fox News Digital.
The proposed amendment to ELCRA was introduced last month and received support from Democrats and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Doukoure said that officials are "cramming this legislation through" and "have not yet agreed to meet with their religious constituents that have religious concerns over this bill."
Catholic and Protestant groups and Republicans also challenged the bill alongside Muslims. These groups are concerned that the bill could lead to discrimination against religious and conservative people, as well as expose them to potential lawsuits if they believe in the traditional marriage of one man and a woman and their views on biological differences between men and women.
Doukoure said that CAIR partnered with the Michigan Catholic Conference, which is the main lobbying and advocacy wing of the Catholic Church in Michigan, in calling for religious protections in the bill.
"They have a lot of lobbying power. They testified in front of the Senate about the Senate version of this bill," she said.
"We work with them on a regular basis in matters where our interests align in the preservation of religious freedoms," Doukoure said.
CAIR’s petition received more than triple the signatures than their goal of 500. The petition is intended to urge lawmakers to add reasonable language to any expansion of the ELCRA to provide religious protections in order to prevent "expensive and lengthy" litigation over First Amendment rights.
"We’re standing ready to provide legal defense to any institution and organization that is at risk and has a risk of losing contracts and not being able to obtain contracts with the government as it relates to the state of Michigan because of the provisions of ELCRA that will prohibit that," Doukoure said.
Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (AP Photo/Al Goldis, File)
She went on to say, "All of the other states that have passed the legislation have done so with religious protections. Michigan wants to be different. They want to be an outlier. And we don't understand why of the other 22 states have passed it, why Michigan can't include the language."
Doukoure also noted that it's important for people to realize that CAIR is asking the Michigan legislature to add in language that has already been adopted by the courts.
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"The language we're asking for and the requirements or the provisions that we're asking for have already been adopted by the courts as being reasonable accommodations, reasonable religious expression. And we want it added in simply for the fact that we don't want to have to litigate this in court," she said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the sponsor of the bill, Jeremy Moses, for comment on Doukoure's claims. Moses said that CAIR never reached out to his office. However, he said that he did have a meeting with the Michigan Catholic Conference and they "could not come to an agreement on amendment language."
"We left these conversations with disagreement on the bill but with mutual respect," Moses told Fox News Digital.
"As for 'cramming the bill through,' this bill was first introduced in 1983 before I was born. It has been reintroduced every session since I was first elected," he said, pushing back against Doukoure's claim that the legislation is being "crammed through."
"This session, the bill was introduced Jan. 12. There was a committee hearing on Feb. 2. There was a second committee hearing on Feb. 9, and it was voted to the floor of the Senate. Everyone who wanted to submit testimony could. CAIR did not," Moses said.
He continued, "The bill was open for amendments on the floor on Feb. 21. None were offered. The bill was open for debate on March 1. Three of these religious amendments were offered, all were debated and, in a majority vote, were defeated. That is the majoritarian and democratic process. During the final vote, all senators had the chance to debate the bill. One senator spoke in opposition, unimpeded, for 30 minutes. It passed with a bipartisan vote. It is now in the House, where the process there will begin."
The Michigan Senate will be voting on proposed amendments to the ELCRA through Senate Bill 4.
Michigan State Capitol Building in Lansing. (Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
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