Texas supreme court affirms special rights for religion
Published: June 19, 2009
Updated 5 months ago
The Texas state supreme court ruled unanimously on Friday that a town which had altered its zoning to ban two church-sponsored halfway houses in a residential neighborhood was in violation of the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
That act, which was passed in 1999 and endorsed by then-Governor George W. Bush, affords greater legal protection to religious operations than to equivalent secular operations.
Under its provisions, cities have to prove that zoning regulations — like the one passed by the town of Sinton to ban jails and rehabs within 1000 feet of a home, school, or church — further a “compelling” interest, such as protecting public safety, and do not place a “substantial burden” on the free exercise of religion.
Town officials asserted that the zoning regulations placed no restrictions on worship or the practice of religion and were merely intended to protect the safety of residents. This position was upheld at the local and appeals court levels.
However, the all-Republican and generally conservative state supreme court agreed with Pastor Richard Barr’s claim that because the town of Sinton is so small, the regulation had the effect of excluding him from operating his “ministry” for parolees anywhere.
Barr’s case was argued by the conservative Liberty Legal Institute (LLI) and was also supported by the American Center for Law and Justice — founded by Pat Robertson — and by the ACLU.
LLI was involved several years ago in a widely-noted case against a Texas school district which its litigation director, Hiram Sasser, claimed had demonstrated “pervasive religious hostility” by banning the distribution at Christmas time of candy canes with a religious message.
According to Sasser, today’s decision “means that in zoning cases you have to give churches special treatment. … You have to have very special reasons for telling a church you can’t locate here and locate there. That’s going to be a touch burden for cities.”
“This is a home run,” Sasser proclaimed. ‘I think it will be a model for other states.”
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Great, Texas has forsaken the constitution’s requirement that church and state be separated - as did President Bush with his “faith based” initiatives. These folks in Texas, even though they execute more people than anywhere in the United States - are simply just “good Christians.” Is anyone aware of how many people Jesus executed??? In Texas, it appears as if the Ten Commandments have been nullified by those that believe “Thou Shalt Not Kill” only applies to those who haven’t ever broken a law or have a different color of skin than they have - or any other reason they can dream-up to justify their obvious violation of what they preach in church is “God’s word.”
Unfortunately, as all too often in our state, some so-called Christians justify whatever it is they feel like doing with saying it’s “God’s word,” which by pure coincidence happens to be exactly their word. Whatever anyone else might say has to be wrong because whatever they say is God’s word. I.E. they are God, and their word is law. It’s easy to get away with things when you say you are God, and can convince others it’s true.
This poison tree will bear poison fruit.
I hope this goes up to the US Supreme Court.
In Texas a lot of people seem to be OK with faith-based jurisprudence.
The Texas Supreme Court is a bunch of Republican corporate/insurance stooges masquerading as Republican populists of the volkisch persuasion.
Watch out, this could happen in your state, too.
Faith-based? WHOSE FAITH? hahahaaaaa…
Such Texans are ridiculous ASS WIPES and whores for
a bunch of philandering, pompous-arsed, self-appointed
“reverends” hired as a voter block by the GOP Republicans to
create CHAOS and WASTE TAXPAYER MONEY on
trivial pursuit. They need a good horse whipping.
I always knew Texas was in a different time zone. I just didn’t know it was in the twelfth century.
It’ll only “be a home run for other states” that are interested in becoming church states.
Freakin’ zealot nutcases.
Ok, so alleged “special rghts” protections for gays against violence is unconstitutional. But special protections for these bastard christians is just okey dokey.
Death to christianity.
Not only a different time zone, but in the “Twilight Zone.”
“When fascism comes to America, it will come dressed in the flag and wearing the cross.”
I think it’s great that the pastor wants to help parolees though I doubt I’d appreciate his method- probably shoving right-wing “Christianity” down their throats instead of education, support and decency. That said, can one imagine how it would go over if the Democratic party of Texas had the same program and tried to locate this parolee half-way house in the same residential area of the town? In fact, the people of the town were so concerned that they didn’t care that the local Ayatollah told them it was okay. They over-ruled him and only the distant GOP controlled, right-wing state supreme court decided against the people of the town in order to do their “religious” masters’ business. Surely the pastor could have found a compromise location. But he wasn’t interested in compromise, he wanted to proved the primacy of his religion.
As the article plainly stated, Sinton is too small (and I’ve driven through the place) to find anywhere that a half-way house doesn’t come into “conflict” with a residential area. There was no compromise place possible.
it’s called “outskirts”, and that’s why we invented buses and vans.
In the grand scheme of things religion and science should not be at odds, but should both paddle in the grand direction we must go into.
I wonder what the judges would have ruled if the half-way house was run by Muslims or Buddhists?
Well, folks, this IS TexASS, after all …
The problem is the original law that gives churches a bit more leeway than nonreligious organizations. But given that law, there is no other way that any reasonable court could have ruled. The state supreme court is not in charge of deciding constitutionality of state laws. That’s for the federal courts.
What surprises me is that the Texas Supreme Court didn’t try to find some way to pack these guys off to jail again, but instead ruled in their favor. Texas judges are not noted for caring about convicts or downtrodden people in general.
No, the state Supreme Court has the duty to decide the constitutionality of STATE laws.
The Texas Supreme Court. of course, is a bunch of paid-off hack capons.
Insurance industry hacks. every one of them. Posturing as populist theocratic Republicans. The stench is worse than anyone from outside Texas can believe.
THEY stink, and I KNOW — I’ve been a Texas attorney for 33 years.
I hope, when their damned law gets thrown out by SCOTUS, that all the ignorant, inbred, pedophile, Jesus Jumpers, that is 90% of the Texass population, decides to seceed. We should just let them, and tell Mexico that we won’t interfere if they decide to take Texass back………As my Momma used to say, “The only good thing that ever came out of Texass was an empty Greyhound Bus”.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot! William Tecumseth Sherman having much experience in Texas said, “If I owned Texas and Hell, I’d rent out Texas and live in Hell”….It must have been full of Jesus Jumpers then too…… I think it is time for The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster to start up some churches in Texas neighborhoods. Arrrrrgh Matey!
rAmen
Looks to me like Texas is a great state, legally speaking, for a bunch of Pagans and Rastafarians to go set up shop.
This is a bought-and-paid-for stooge court. The Texas Supreme Court is owned, lock, stock, and barrel, by insurance interests.
They put on this theocratic-populist act to keep the goobers happy while they rob the state blind.
Several Texas Supreme Court justices are KARL ROVE proteges.
There is really not much more to say about this.
OF COURSE the SCOTUS will overturn this claptrap. Probably just 5-4, with predictable howling from the Religious Reich, but a win is a win. This is bad law, and I think/hope it will not stand in SCOTUS.
SHIT! Another reason for me to be embarrassed because I live in Texas.
Here is a blog entry I did on Texas awhile back.
http://juansrants.blogspot.com/2009/04/texas.html
I pledge allegiance to the lord of the Christian state of TexAss. And to the theocracy for which he stands, one state under gawd, with liberty and justice for just us. Amen.
You have the right to remain morons.
Sorry… Y’all have the right to remain morons.
There is a real whiff of fascism in the air in America these days. It’s even stronger in Texas.
They murder presidents in Texas, you know.