Friends,
Here’s some good news: The Idaho House Local Government Committee yesterday introduced our legislation to protect religious freedom for artists and small business owners!
We need your help in showing the committee members that this issue matters to the people of Idaho—so send your message now!
The new legislation – called the Uniformity in Local Antidiscrimination Ordinances Act – will be assigned a bill number sometime today. We’re excited to partner with Rep. Bruce Skaug (R-Nampa) in this fight for religious freedom.
Our legislation would preempt Idaho towns and counties from enforcing local ordinances banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity (SOGI). It would also prevent local governments from adopting SOGI ordinances in the future.
Local SOGI ordinances are frequently weaponized to coerce people of faith to violate their sincerely held beliefs in order to stay in business. Just consider some of these examples:
- A bakery owner in Colorado endured years of court battles after refusing to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding ceremony
- An Arizona art studio declined to provide their artistic services to create custom wedding invitations for a same-sex wedding—and were threatened thousands of dollars of fines and months of jail time
- A print shop owner in Kentucky faced legal action for refusing to print gay pride t-shirts for a pride festival
- A Washington State florist lost in court after refusing to prepare floral arrangements for a same-sex wedding ceremony
It’s even happening here in Idaho, where twelve cities and one county have adopted SOGI ordinances.
What can you do to help? A full committee hearing will be forthcoming—and we need YOU to encourage committee members to support this bill!
Send your email now to make your voice heard! It only takes a minute of your time—but it could make a big difference.
