Religious freedom an excuse to oppress transgender people, state policy analyst says
by Guy Page
The state’s Racial Equity Policy & Research Analyst this week told a Senate committee that Freedom of Religion can be used as an excuse to deny human rights. His statement suggests religious rights will be overshadowed by other civil rights if Proposition 4 passes the Legislature and is approved, a critic of Prop 4 said.
Proposition 4 reads:
Sec. 2. Article 7 of Chapter I of the Vermont Constitution is amended to read:
Article 7. [Government for the people; they may change it]
That government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security of the people, nation, or community, and not for the particular emolument or advantage of any single person, family, or set of persons, who are a part only of that community; that the government shall not deny equal treatment and respect under the law on account of a person’s race, ethnicity, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or national origin; and that the community hath an indubitable, unalienable, and indefeasible right, to reform or alter government, in such manner as shall be, by that community, judged most conducive to the public weal.
The startling comments by Racial Equity Policy & Research Analyst for the Office of Racial Equity Jay Greene, who identifies as transgender, came as Renee McGuinness, Vermont Family Alliance Policy Analyst, testified about Proposition 4 February 20 before the Senate Judiciary Committee. VFA is a parental rights and minor protections advocacy group.
McGuinness noted that religion – included in the original draft of Proposition 4 – is intentionally excluded. It was repeatedly claimed during the Committee meeting on January 30 to be “already covered” under Article 3, Chapter 1 of the Vermont State Constitution. McGuinness claimed the language in Article 7 would be amended in a way that would create a hierarchy of rights, interpreted under strict scrutiny by Vermont State courts.
Specifically, Prop 4 would oppress the rights of persons and groups practicing Judaism, Christianity according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and Islam to live, speak, and act according to their beliefs without the threat of a legal suit against them if their believes, statements, and actions are perceived by a member of a State-sanctioned ‘marginalized’ protected class to violate their rights, including the state-protected person’s right to “dignity”, which is undefined in the Purpose section of Proposition 4, McGuinness said.
Persons practicing Judaism, Christianity, and Islam would be marginalized by intentionally excluding “religion” as a protected class – despite the fact that all three faiths (and others, of course) have been been historically marginalized.
Jay Greene, Racial Equity Policy & Research Analyst for the Office of Racial Equity, pointed out that some individuals identify under several categories of protected classes, and therefore qualify for more protections and benefits under the proposed amendment.
Greene stated, “Repairing historical harm sometimes requires equitable treatment, not equal treatment, and equity sometimes means targeting programs to populations based on need rather than absolute equal treatment,” that religion is protected under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, and according to his personal opinion, not necessarily the opinion of the Vermont Human Rights Commission, “I have concerns with some people using ‘freedom of religion’ as an excuse to deny the human rights of people like myself, transgender people and other people of the protected classes that are listed in Proposal 4.” This is a clear statement that Jay Greene thinks his rights supersede another person’s right to live out their faith and is a foreshadowing of the State laws and policies we can expect if Proposition 4 were to pass.
The comments were part of a lengthy discussion about the impact of Proposition 4 on civil rights, and especially freedom of religion, including testimony by McGuinness. VDC will continue to follow this important news story.