MONTANA: License To Discriminate Ballot Measure Tabled After Deadlocked Vote
Politics USA reports:
After a heated floor debate, the Montana House failed to pass a “religious freedom” bill, deadlocking on a 50-50 vote, effectively defeating House Bill 615 on Friday. H.B. 615, sponsored by Rep. Karl Glimm (R-Kila), would have placed a legislative referendum on the November 2016 ballot that, if approved by voters, would have legalized discrimination, if it was based on a person’s religious beliefs. The vote fell mostly on party lines, with all 41 Democrats voting NAY, compared to 50 Republicans who voted YEA, with 9 Republicans joining the Democrats, in voting against the measure. The debate on the House Floor was impassioned, with Democrats raising a number of objections to the legislation. Rep. Margie MacDonald (D-Billings) hoisted up a copy of The White Man’s Bible, a White Nationalist religious text, for the racist Church of the Creator (COTC), arguing that the language in the bill would essentially legalize anything done in the name of a religious belief system.Montana Gov. Steve Bullock: "What's happening in Indiana is something that shouldn't be happening in Montana. We don't need laws like that imported into our state." (Tipped by JMG reader Bison)
Labels: LGBT rights, Montana, religion, religious liberty